TheW:)rk 

OF  THE 

American  Red  cross 

DURING  THE  WAR 


^ 


c 


THE  WORK 

OF   THE 

AMERICAN   RED  CROSS 
DURING  THE  WAR 


THIS  IS    NO 


XiSS 


C2^ 


OF  A  LIMITED  EDITION  OF  THE 
REPORT  OF  THE  WAR  COUNCIL 

AND  IS    PRESENTED 
AS  A  TOKEN  OF  APPRECIATION 
OF  THE  PART  TAKEN  BY 


IN  THE  WAR  WORK  OF 
THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS 


Chairman^ 

THE  WAR  COUNCIL, 

THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS 


■'■■^'■•v^-''         -i   -i  '         4ir»'^ 


THE  WORK 

OF  THE 

AMERICAN  RED  CROSS 
DURING  THE  WAR 

A  STATEMENT  OF 
FINANCES  AND  ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

FOR  THE  PERIOD 
JULY    I,    I917    TO    FEBRUARY    28,    I919 


AMERICAN  RED  CROSS 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

OCTOBER,    191 9 


FOREWORD 


To  the  American  People: 

Herein  is  contained  in  the  form  of  figures  a  report  of  money  con- 
tributed and  expended,  as  well  as  the  work  done  by  the  American 
Red  Cross,  during  the  period  in  which  the  War  Council  was  in  con- 
trol of  its  affairs.  It  was  the  practice  of  the  War  Council  to  give 
complete  publicity  to  its  policies  and  finances,  but  it  is  only  now 
that  a  picture  of  the  war  period  as  a  whole  can  be  presented.  It  is 
the  feeling  of  the  War  Council  that  a  report  in  this  summarized  form 
should  be  made  directly  to  the  public  which  provided  the  money  and 
gave  the  effort  which  made  the  American  Red  Cross  a  success. 

Immediately  the  armistice  was  signed  the  War  Council  prepared  to 
turn  over  the  direction  of  afTairs  to  the  Executive  Committee  as  the 
permanent  head  of  the  American  Red  Cross.  The  report  herein  con- 
tained therefore  brings  the  affairs  of  the  Red  Cross  only  up  to  March 
I,  1919.  On  that  date  the  War  Council  relinquished  its  authority. 
The  work,  however,  of  the  American  Red  Cross  was  going  on  at  a  very 
rapid  pace.  The  war  work  proper,  incident  to  the  military  effort,  was 
on  an  extensive  scale  long  after  hostilities  ceased,  and  as  the  spring 
months  revealed  the  conditions  brought  about  by  war,  especially  in 
Eastern  Europe,  the  American  Red  Cross  was  face  to  face  with  obli- 
gations of  large  proportions  on  behalf  of  humanity.  There  was  wide- 
spread suffering  which  we  alone  were  in  a  position  to  relieve. 

A  statement  of  the  American  Red  Cross  effort  and  finances  since  the 
War  Council  relinquished  its  control  will  be  made  to  the  public  through 
the  Executive  Committee,  and  it  is  important  therefore  that  the  fact 
that  this  report  covers  the  period  only  until  March  i,  should  be  care- 
fully noted. 

The  American  Red  Cross  has  wrought  both  largely  and  nobly,  yet 
those  who  have  been  associated  so  intimately  with  its  activities  during 
the  war  and  have  witnessed  the  outpouring  of  service  which  it  brought 
forth  from  all  classes  of  people,  cannot  but  feel  that  in  time  of  peace 


IV  FOREWORD 

the  Red  Cross  will  realize  a  yet  larger  destiny.  This  is  not  the  place 
to  detail  these  opportunities  of  the  future,  but  it  is  a  fitting  occasion  to 
repeat  the  happy  phrase  recently  uttered  by  Cardinal  Mercier  in  con- 
nection with  the  work  of  the  American  Red  Cross: 

"Such  a  national  inspiration  should  be  captured  and  held  for  the 
benefit  of  all  mankind." 

H.  P.  Davison 
Chairman,  War  Council 


Note 

The  following  letter,  although  not  printed  in  this  report,  is  inserted  here 
because  of  the  interest  Red  Cross  workers  will  take  in  this  characterization 
of  their  work. 

Certainly  nothing  is  clearer  than  that  the  praise  for  the  work  the  Red 
Cross  did  during  the  war  belongs  to  the  thousands  of  its  members  and 
workers  who  struggled,  sacrificed,  and  achieved. — H.  P.  D. 


THE  SECRETARY  OF  WAR 
WASHINGTON 


October  28,  iQig 

My  dear  Mr.  Davison: 

There  is  no  greater  romance  in  history  than  that  told  by 
the  pamphlet  just  issued,  showing  the  work  of  the  American 
Red  Cross  during  the  war.  The  report  itself  is  character- 
ized by  a  restraint  that  after  all  serves  only  to  emphasize  the 
impressive  narrative  of  facts,  and  one's  imagination  must 
supply  the  stories  of  personal  enthusiasm,  sacrifice  and  labor 
which  went  to  make  up  this  great  tale.  Your  own  part  in  it 
all  was  commanding  and  indispensable,  and  I  am  writing 
this  to  tender  you  and  your  associates  my  deep  and  grate- 
ful appreciation  of  the  work.  America  literally  mothered 
the  weak  and  helpless  of  the  world  through  the  Red  Cross, 
and  every  citizen  of  America  can  have  a  generous  emotion  of 
world  citizenship  in  the  best  sense  when  he  realizes  that  you 
represented  us  all  in  doing  this  splendid  thing. 

Cordially  yours, 

{Signed)     Newton  D.  Baker 
To 

Mr.  Henry  P.  Davison 

New  York  City 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

Foreword iii 

List  of  diagrams viii 

List  of  tables viii 

List  of  maps , x 

Statement  of  Red  Cross  accomplishments xi 

Chapter  L    Summary  of  Financial  Operations I 

General I 

Chapter  finances 3 

Finances  of  national  headquarters 4 

IL    Membership  and  war  drives      . 9 

General 9 

Membership 9 

Summary      9 

Adult  membership II 

Junior  Membership 12 

Revenues  from  membership 15 

War  drives 16 

IIL   Work  in  the  United  States 21 

General 21 

Chapter  activ'ities 21 

Production  of  relief  articles 21 

Home  service — work  for  the  families  of  soldiers  and  sailors  25 

Canteen  service 27 

Motor  corps  service 31 

Red  Cross  Work  in  Spanish  influenza  epidemic     ....  31 

Instruction  in  first  aid 32 

Activities  of  the  national  and  divisional  organizations     .    .  32 

Nursing  service 32 

Camp  service 33 

Sanitary  service  .    .    .    .   ' 38 

Communication  work 40 

Disaster  relief 40 

Life-saving  work ". 41 

Organization  of  base  hospitals      .41 

Organization  of  ambulance  companies 41 


VI  CONTENTS 

Page 

Other  medical  and  hospital  work 42 

Red  Cross  Institute  for  Crippled  and  Disabled  Men    .    .  42 

Red  Cross  Institute  for  the  Blind 43 

Supplies  operations  in  the  United  States 43 

Personnel      45 

The  administrative  organization  in  the  United  States  47 

IV.   Work  in  France 49 

General 49 

Hospital  and  medical  work,  with  armies  and  navy  ....  51 

Hospitals  for  American  and  Allied  troops 51 

Convalescent  homes  for  American  soldiers 52 

Dispensaries  and  infirmaries  for  American  soldiers  ...  53 

Hospital  supply  service  for  American  Army 53 

Red  Cross  supply  service  for  French  hospitals 53 

Production  and  supply  of  splints 54 

Production  and  supply  of  nitrous  oxide  and  oxygen     .    .  54 

Reconstruction  and  re-education 55 

Canteens 56 

General 56 

Front-line  canteens 56 

Line  of  communication  canteens 57 

Aviation  canteens 57 

Evacuation  hospital  canteens 58 

Metropolitan  canteens 58 

Recreational  and  welfare  service  for  soldiers  and  sailors   .    .  58 

Home  and  hospital  service  for  soldiers  and  sailors    ....  59 

Hospital  farms  and  gardens 59 

Hospital  recreational  huts 60 

Home  communication  service 60 

Grave  photography 61 

Civilian  relief 61 

Relief  of  refugees 61 

Relief  of  French  soldiers'  families 62 

Children's  relief  work 63 

Anti-tuberculosis  work 63 

Other  activities 64 

V.   Work  Elsewhere  Overseas 65 

General 65 

Belgium 66 

.Soldiers'  relief  service 66 

Relief  of  children 67 

Relief  of  civilians 67 


CONTENTS  VU 

Page 

Italy 68 

Service  for  American  soldiers  and  sailors 68 

Medical  and  hospital  service  for  the  Italian  Army   ...  69 

Ambulance  service  for  the  Italian  Army 69 

Canteen  service  for  the  Italian  Army      69 

Relief  of  refugees 71 

Care  of  children ~2 

Other  activities 7- 

British  Isles      72 

Hospital  service 7^ 

Camp  and  canteen  service 73 

Care  of  the  shipwrecked 75 

Other  activities 76 

Switzerland 76 

Prisoners'  relief  service 77 

Relief  of  civilians 79 

Balkan  States 79 

Roumania 80 

Serbia 8i 

Russia 82 

Siberia 83 

Medical  service 83 

Camp  service ■....-...  85 

Refugee  relief 86 

Palestine  and  Near  East 86 

Other  activities  overseas 89 


DIAGRAMS,  TABLES,  AND  MAPS 

LIST  OF  DIAGR^\MS 

Page 

Diagram  i.    Disposition  of  the  average  dollar  spent  by  A.  R.  C 3 

2.  Value    and    distribution,    by    classes,    of    chapter-produced 

articles 22 

3.  Home  service  rendered  to  families  of  soldiers  and  sailors  .    .  26 

4.  Purchased  supplies  shipped  overseas  for  Red  Cross  work, 

classified  by  kind  and  value 44 

5.  Hospital  days  in  Red  Cross  military  hospitals  in  France,  dur- 

ing months  of  America's  most  active  ser\'ice 52 

6.  Thousands  of  drinks  served  in  Red  Cross  canteens  at  the 

front,  by  months 56 

7.  American  prisoners  in  German  and  Austrian  prison  camps 

aided  by  the  Red  Cross 77 

LIST  OF  TABLES 

Table  I.    Combined  financial  operations  A.  R.  C.  as  a  whole 2 

2.  Chapter  financial  operations     .    .* 3 

3.  National  headquarters  financial  operations 5 

4.  Fund  balances,  national  headquarters 6 

5.  Resources  composing  fund  balances,  national  headquarters    .    .  7 

6.  Adult  membership,  compared  with  population,  by  States  ...  it 

7.  Junior  Red  Cross  members  and  percentage  of  membership  to 

school  population,  by  States 14 

8.  Collected  contributions,  first  and  second  war  drives  combined. 

with  comparisons  by  States i8 

9.  Collections  in  foreign  countries,  first  and  second  war  drives  .    .  20 

10.  Classification  of  relief  supplies  produced  by  chapter  workers  .    .  23 

11.  Distribution  of  chapter-produced  relief  supplies 23 

12.  Classified  list  of  relief  articles  produced  by  the  Junior  Red  Cross  25 

13.  Refreshments  served  free  by  Red  Cross  canteens  in  U.  S.  .    .    .  29 

14.  Supplies  distributed  free  by  Red  Cross  canteens  in  U.  S.    .    .    .  29 

15.  Hours  of  service  of  Red  Cross  motor  corps  workers  in  U.  S.  .    .  31 

16.  Red  Cross  buildings  in  camps  in  U.  S 34 

17.  Some  of  the  principal  articles  distributed  free  in  camps  and 

hospitals  in  U.  S.  by  the  Red  Cross 35 


DIAGRAMS,     TABLES    AND     MAPS  IX 

Page 

i8.    Hospital  services  in  U.  S 3^ 

19.  Home  service  cases  in  camps  in  U.  S 36 

20.  Red  Cross  sanitary  service  in  the  prevention  of  malaria  in  U.  S.  38 

21.  Red  Cross  sanitary  inspections 3^ 

22.  Public  health  nursing  within  sanitary  zones 39 

23.  Classification  of  principal  disasters  in  which   the   Red  Cross 

rendered  aid 4° 

24.  Supplies  transactions  in  U.  S 43 

25.  Tons  of  supplies  shipped  from  U.  S.  overseas  for  Red  Cross  work  43 

26.  Schedule  of  personnel  and  salaries  of  the  national  organization   .  46 

27.  Appropriations  for  cash  expenditure  in  France 51 

28.  Work  in  twenty-four  Red  Cross  military  hospitals  in  France  52 

29.  Red  Cross  production  and  supply  of  nitrous  oxide  and  oxygen  54 

30.  Red  Cross  aid  to  French  mutiles 55 

31.  Red  Cross  aid  to  disabled  American  soldiers  in  France   ....  55 

32.  Summary  statistics  of  Red  Cross  canteens  in  France 56 

33.  Red  Cross  line  of  communication  canteens 57 

34.  Red  Cross  aviation  canteens 57 

35.  Red  Cross  canteens  in  evacuation  hospitals 5^ 

36.  Red  Cross  metropolitan  canteens 5^ 

37.  Red  Cross  hospital  farms  and  gardens  in  France 60 

38.  Red  Cross  moving  pictures  for  hospitals 6(? 

39.  Red  Cross  home  communication  service  in  France 61 

40.  Relief  of  French  refugees 62 

41.  Children's  relief  work  in  France  .    .' 63 

42.  Anti-tuberculosis  work  in  France 64 

43.  Appropriations  for  cash  expenditure  elsewhere  overseas  ....  66 

44.  Red  Cross  work  among  refugees  in  Italy 7^ 

45.  A  few  of  the  supplies  distributed   by  the   Red   Cross  among 

refugees  in  Italy      71 

46.  Some  of  the   principal   articles  distributed   free   to  American 

soldiers  and  sailors  in  the  British  Isles 73 

47.  Supplies  furnished  American  prisoners 7^ 

48.  Hospitals  operated  by  the  Red  Cross  in  Siberia 84 

49.  Supplies  distributed  by  the  Red  Cross  in  Western  Silicria  ...  85 

50.  Refugee  relief  work  of  the  Red  Cross  in  Siberia    .^ 86 

51.  Medical  service  of  the  Red  Cross  in  the  Jerusalem  district  ...  87 

52.  Red  Cross  work  among  children  in  the  Jerusalem  district  ...  89 

53.  Red  Cross  industrial  and  agricultural  service  in  t!u'  Jerusalem 

district 89 


DIAGRAMS,  TABLES  AND  MAPS 


LIST  OF  MAPS 

Page 
Map    I.    3,724  Red  Cross  chapters  by  States  and  divisions 8 

2.  Percentage  of  adult  membership  to  population,  by  States  ...        10 

3.  Percentage  of  school  children  of  the  United  States  who  were 

Junior  Red  Cross  members,  by  States 13 

4.  Per  cent,  to  wealth  of  combined  collections  in  both  Red  Cross 

war  drives,  by  States 17 

5.  Value  of  chapter-produced  articles,  by  divisions,   per  chapter 

member 24 

6.  3,618  home  service  sections,  by  States 28 

7.  700  Red  Cross  canteens  in  U.  S 30 

8.  339  military  and  naval  stations  in  U.  S.  where  camp  service  was 

conducted 34 

9.  37  Red  Cross  sanitary  units  in  U.  S 37 

ID.    551  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service  in  France       50 
ir.    141  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service  in  Italy       70 

12.  329  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service  in  the 

British  Isles 74 

13.  25  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service  in  Switzer- 

land           76 

14.  13  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service  in  Rou- 

mania 81 

15.  22  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service  in  Siberia       84 

16.  54   stations   from   which   the   Red   Cross   rendered   service   in 

Palestine  and  the  Near  East 88 


PRINCIPAL  ACCOMPLISHMENTS  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  RED  CROSS  DURING 
THE  WAR 


Contributions  received  (money  and  material) $400,000,000 

Red  Cross  members:  Adults       20,000,000 

Children    11,000,000 31,000,000 

Red  Cross  workers 8,100,000 

Relief  articles  produced  by  volunteer  workers      371,500,000 

Families  of  soldiers  aided  by  home  service  in  U.  S 500,000 

Refreshments  served  by  canteen  workers  in  U.  S 40,000,000 

Nurses  enrolled  for  service  with  Army,  Navy,  or  Red  Cross  23,822 
Kinds  of  comfort  articles  distributed  to  soldiers  and  sailors 

in  U.  S 2,700 

Knitted  articles  given  to  soldiers  and  sailors  in  U.  S.      ...  10,900,000 

Tons  of  relief  supplies  shipped  overseas 101,000 

Foreign  countries  in  which  Red  Cross  operated 25 

Patient  days  for  soldiers  and  sailors  in  Red  Cross  hospitals 

in  France 1,155,000 

French  hospitals  given  material  aid 3. 7^0 

Splints  supplied  for  American  soldiers 294,000 

Gallons  of  nitrous  oxide  and  oxygen  furnished  hospitals  in 

France      4,340,000 

Soldiers  served  by  Red  Cross  canteens  in  France 15,376,000 

Civilian  refugees  aided  in  France 1,726,000 

American  convalescent  soldiers  attending  Red  Cross  movies 

in  France 3,110,000 

Wounded  soldiers  carried  by  Red  Cross  ambulances  in  Italy  148,000 

Children  cared  for  by  Red  Cross  in  Italy      155,000 


SUMMARY  OF  FINANCIAL  OPERATIONS 

For  Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

GENERAL 

To  present  a  complete  picture  of  Red  Cross  financial  operations  it  is 
necessary  to  bring  together  figures  for  national  headquarters  (including 
divisions  and  overseas  commissions)  and  for  all  chapters. 

Each  chapter  is  substantially  autonomous  in  financial  affairs.  A 
proportion  of  "war-drive"  contributions  and  of  membership  dues 
collected  within  its  territory  is  retained  by  each  chapter — the  balance 
going  to  national  headquarters — and  it  obtains  other  revenues  through 
special  contributions,  proceeds  from  entertainments,  sales,  etc.  The 
funds  so  obtained  are  used  in  operating  canteens,  home  service  work, 
production  of  relief  articles  and  the  thousand  helpful  local  tasks  that 
fall  to  the  chapter. 

The  funds  received  by  national  headquarters  finance  all  overseas 
relief  work,  and  the  important  tasks  carried  on  in  the  United  States, 
such  as  service  to  soldiers  in  all  military  establishments  and  hospitals 
etc.,  of  a  nature  placing  them  outside  the  field  of  chapter  activities; 
also,  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  necessary  central  organization,  trans- 
portation both  of  relief  supplies  and  personnel,  and  countless  similar 
items. 

It  will  be  clear  from  the  above  that  the  fields  naturally  covered  by 
the  two  sets  of  figures  are  not  generally  similar,  so  that  combined  fig- 
ures can  be  given  only  to  a  limited  extent.  Unlimited  details  can  be 
given  for  each  group  separately. 

The  following  table  shows  the  revenues  and  expenditures  of  chapters 
and  national  headquarters  combined  for  the  twenty  months  ending 
February  28,  1919,  round  figures  being  used  for  simplicity: 


2  WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 

Table  I 

COMBINED  FINANCIAL  OPERATIONS 
A.  R.  C.  AS  A  WHOLE 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  IQIQ 

Revenues  (including  balance  July  i,  1917) 

National  headquarters $263,000,000 

Chapters 137,000,000 

Total .  5400,000,000 


Cost  of  Chap- 
ter-Produced 

National                                    Articles  Total 

Expenditures                                       Headquarters      Chapters       Distributed  Expenditures 

France $57,000,000                             $25,000,000  $82,000,000 

Elsewhere  overseas  ....         64,000,000                                 8,000,000  72,000,000 

United  States 48,000,000     $43,000,000       28,000,000  119,000,000 

Totals $169,000,000     $43,000,000     $61,000,000  $273,000,000 

Balance,  February  28,  1919 

National  headquarters — cash $41,000,000 

National  headquarters — supplies 53,000,000 

Chapters 33,000,000 

Total $127,000,000 


In  connection  with  this  balance  of  $127,000,000  on  hand  on  Febru- 
ary 28  several  things  must  be  borne  in  mind,  because  this  figure  gives 
no  indication  of  the  greatly  reduced  amount  which  will  probably  be 
available  eight  months  later.  This  is  true  because  the  cash  in  the 
hands  of  chapters  supplied  local  needs  during  the  spring  and  summer; 
and  the  supplies  in  the  hands  of  divisions  and  overseas  commissions 
represented  work  undertaken  before  February  28.  On  that  date  they 
were  being  utilized  as  rapidly  as  possible  in  completing  these  old 
obligations.  The  $41,000,000  unappropriated  cash  then  in  the  hands 
of  headquarters  represented  the  only  resource  available  for  new  under- 
takings or  for  carrying  on  the  great  bulk  of  the  work  for  which  no 
further  financial  provision  had  then  been  made;  the  obligations  of  the 
Red  Cross  committed  it  to  continuing  service  in  practically  every  line 
of  activity,  and  many  of  these  activities  continued  to  expand  for  a 
period;   indeed  by  the  very  nature  of  the  case  expenditures  concerned 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  3 

with  the  return  of  our  soldiers  and  the  caring  for  the  recreational  needs 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  did  not  reach  their  zenith  until  a  somewhat 
later  date. 

The  main  distribution  of  all  expenditures  is  indicated  graphically 
below,  on  the  basis  of  the  above  figures: 


Diagram  i.   Disposition  of  the  average  dollar  spent  by  the 
American  Red  Cross 

CHAPTER  FINANCES 

The  growth  in  chapters  during  the  war  period  was  in  keeping  with 
the  enormous  growth  in  membership.  The  simple  statement  that  on 
February  28,  1919,  there  were  3,724  chapters  with  17,186  branches 
suggests  the  difficulties  encountered  in  combining  the  accounts  for  this 
mass  of  units,  each  of  which  is  largely  autonomous  in  financial  affairs. 
However,  each  chapter  is  required  to  make  simple  financial  reports  to 
national  headquarters  at  regular  intervals,  and  the  regulations  call  for 
a  periodical  audit  of  all  of  their  afifairs  by  an  auditing  committee  or 
outside  auditor.  From  these  sources  a  sufficient  number  of  reports 
has  been  received  to  warrant  estimates  for  the  chapters  still  to  be 
heard  from.  As  a  result  of  these  computations,  the  following  table  is 
presented  as  covering  the  financial  transactions  of  all  chapters: 

Table  2  chapter  financial  operations 

(Including  Branches  and  Auxiliaries) 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

Revenues 

Chapters'  proportion  of  war  drives $53,800,000 

Chapters'  proportion  of  membership  dues 18,440,000 

Chapters'  proportion  of  class  fees 390,000 

Sales  of  materials  to  members  for  relief  articles 20,290,000 

Contributions,  legacies,  and  gifts 9,580,000 

All  other  revenue '. 31,340,000 

Total $133,840,000 


4  WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

Expenditures 

Materials  purchased  for  relief  articles $60,660,000 

Canteen  service 2,320,000 

Equipment  of  military  hospitals,  ambulances,  etc 3,070,000 

Home  service 8,790,000 

Miscellaneous  war  relief      480,000 

Spanish  influenza  epidemic  relief  work 1,680,000 

Disaster  relief 520,000 

Public  health  nursing 380,000 

Transportation  on  materials  and  supplies 290,000 

General  operating  expenses 7,490,000 

All  other  expenditures 17,900,000 


Total ' $103,580,000 


Excess  of  receipts  over  expenditures $30,260,000 

Balance,  June  30,1917 3,200,000 


Balance,  February  28,  1919 $33. 460, 000 


FINANCES  OF  NATIONAL  HEADQUARTERS 

The  financial  and  accounting  plan  applied  to  the  affairs  of  national 
headquarters  is  one  generally  known  as  "the  fund  and  appropriation 
system."  Under  this  plan  a  number  of  funds  exist,  either  under  By- 
Law  requirement  or  executive  order,  each  for  a  specific  purpose.  All 
revenues  are,  on  receipt,  placed  in  the  fund  to  which  they  belong. 
Money  can  be  taken  out  of  these  funds  only  by  formal  act  of  appropria- 
tion voted  by  the  War  Council  or  the  Executive  Committee.  Expendi- 
tures are  made  only  under  authorizations  of  this  character. 

Appropriations,  and  therefore  expenditures,  are  classified  according 
to  funds,  countries,  and  classes  of  work.  However,  the  amounts  set 
aside  for  expenditure  in  a  certain  country  are  not  necessarily  a  measure 
of  work  entered  into  for  the  sole  benefit  of  the  natives  of  that  country; 
for  example,  perhaps  the  larger  part  of  the  total  amount  appropriated 
for  work  in  France  benefited  directly  soldiers  of  the  United  States, 
though  of  course  an  immense  amount  of  work  was  done  for  French 
soldiers,  children,  and  refugees  as  well  as  for  the  nationals  of  other 
countries  then  located  in  France. 

On  July  I,  191 7,  the  national  headquarters  had  balances  in  relief 
funds  aggregating  $3,134,904.33.  During  the  twenty  months  ending 
February  28,  1919,  revenues  aggregated  $260,002,589.34,  producing  a 
total  of  $263,137,493.67  available  for  appropriation.  From  this 
amount  $169,095,111.33  was  appropriated,  leaving  balances  in  relief 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  5 

funds  on  February  28,  1919,  aggregating  $94,042,382.34.  This 
balance,  now  substantially  depleted  by  appropriations  made  since 
February  28,  consisted  of  cash  and  securities  $41,339,337-67,  and  sup- 
plies $52,703,044.67.^ 

The  general  sources  from  which  the  revenues  were  obtained  and  the 
general  classes  of  work  for  which  the  appropriations  were  made,  are 
indicated  in  the  following  table: 

Table  j 

NATIONAL  HEADQUARTERS  FINANCIAL  OPERATIONS 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igiQ 

Relief  Fund  balances,  June  30,  1917 l3.i34.904-33 

Revenues  from  July  i,  191 7,  to  February  28,  1919 

First  war  drive  collections — national  headquarters  proportion    .    .    .  $92,947,388.54 

Second  war  drive  collections — national  headquarters  proportion     .    .  136,851,629.73 

Membership  dues — national  headquarters  proportion  = 18,930,056.17 

Donations  of  surplus  funds  from  chapters 1,419,460.07 

Interest 3,157,268.95 

Other  revenues 6,696,785.88 

Total  revenues      1260,002,589.34 

Total  available  for  appropriation  and  expenditure $263,137,493.67 


Appropriations  from  July  i,  191 7,  to  February  28,  1919 

War  relief  in  France $57,207,003.95 

War  relief  elsewhere  overseas 63,840,655.04 

War  relief  in  United  States 28,977,985.24 

Disaster  relief 938,420.87 

Collections,  enrolments,  and  publications 4,660,191.71 

Operation  of  relief  bureaus 2,727,055.90 

Operation  of  bureaus  for  handling  relief  supplies;   also  transportation 

in  United  States  of  relief  supplies 5.530.345-72 

Operations  of  administrative  bureaus  at  national  and  divisional  head- 
quarters        4.359. 758.03 

Other  activities 853,694.87 

Total  appropriations  5 $169,095,111.33 

t  

Balance  in  relief  funds  available  for  appropriation,  February  28, 

1919 $94,042,382.34 


'  Includes  cash  necessary  to  liquidate  supply  contracts. 

=  Excludes  $949,838.29  dues  from  life  and  patron  members,  all  of  which  go  to  the 
Endowment  Fund. 

'  Of  this  sum  $152,380,671.07  had  been  spent  or  advanced  to  February  28,  1919. 


6  WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

The  revenues  quoted  above  are  dealt  with  in  detail  in  Chapter  II. 
Expenditures  are  discussed  in  Chapters  III,  IV  and  V. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  there  should  be  mentioned  the  Endow- 
ment Funds  of  the  Red  Cross,  which  are  controlled  by  a  special  Board 
of  Trustees  which  pays  over  all  income  to  the  national  organization. 
On  July  I,  1917,  these  Funds  aggregated  $1,360,622.41.  During  the 
twenty  months'  period,  revenues,  including  life  and  patron  dues,  gifts, 
legacies  and  interest,  totaled  $1,072,382.27.  In  the  same  period,  in- 
come payments  to  the  national  organization  amounted  to  $106,095.91. 
The  balance  in  the  Funds  on  February  28,  1919,  was  $2,326,909.37. 

The  details  of  the  fund  balances  of  national  headquarters  on  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1919,  are  given  below: 

Table  4 

FUND  BALANCES 
NATIONAL  HEADQUARTERS 

February  28,  iqiq 

Appropriated  but  unspent 

War  Fund      521.288,856.83 

General  Fund 312,696.71 

Contingent  Relief  Fund 63,426.52 

Special  relief  funds 124,032.98 

Miscellaneous  funds 200,000.00 

Total $21,989,013.04 

Less  advances  thereunder 5,274,572.78 

Net  total $16,714,440.26 

Available  for  appropriation 

War  Fund      $88,879,857.60 

General  Fund 4,494,283.87 

Contingent  Relief  Fund 228,614.38 

Special  relief  funds 3,744.11 

Miscellaneous  funds 435,882.38 

Total  unappropriated  relief  funds $94,042,382.34 


Endowment  Fund $2,326,909.37 


Total  of  fund  balances $113,083,731.97 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  7 

The  assets,  or  resources,  composing  these  fund  balances  are  indi- 
cated below: 

Table  $ 

RESOURCES  COMPOSING  FUND  BALANCES 
NATIONAL  HEADgUARTERS 

February  28,  191 9 

Supplies 

In  the  United  States 

Port  warehouses $9,801,356.50 

Division  warehouses 17,101,267.85 

Accounts  receivable  for  supplies  sold 795'548-64 

Overseas 20,979,871.68 

Total 148,678,044.67 

Cash  advances  (to  provide  working  capital) 

Overseas  commissions      $9,509,070.61 

Divisions  in  the  United  States 2,993,990.13 

Miscellaneous 331,000.00 

Total $12,834,060.74 

Current  assets  v 

Cash  in  banks $19,062,878.60 

Cash  and  securities  in  hands  of  War  Finance  Committee  ^ 31,702,600.48 

Securities  owned 1,206,060.25 

Bills  receivable 2,920.00 

Miscellaneous  accounts  receivable 631,742.16 

.*  — ■ 

Total 152,606,201.49 

Less 

Current  accounts  payable fe, 150. 766. 14 

European  drafts  not  yet  presented 210,718.16 

Net  total 149,244,717-19 


Endowment  Fund  assets  in  hands  of  Trustees $2,326,909.37 


Total  resources $113,083,731.97 


■*  Representing  that  part  of  the  we/  amount  which  the  Treasurer  of  the  National  War 
Finance  Committee  reported  as  having  been  collected  by  him  but  not  turned  over  by 
February  28  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  American  Red  Cross. 


8 


WORK     OF     AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


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II 

MEMBERSHIP  AND  WAR  DRIVES 

GENERAL 

During  the  twenty  months'  period  ending  February  28,  1919,  the 
Red  Cross  as  a  whole  received  in  round  figures  $400,000,000  in  volun- 
tary contributions  and  subscriptions.  Of  this  total  $42,000,000  came 
from  membership  dues,  and  $283,500,000  from  the  war  drives.  The 
remainder  came  from  so  many  different  sources  that  specific  mention 
is  impossible  in  this  report. 

MEMBERSHIP 

Summary 

On  May  i,  1917,  just  before  the  appointment  of  the  War  Council, 
there  were  562  chapters  with  a  membership  of  486,194  adult  members. 

On  February  28,  1919,  there  were  3,724  chapters  with  17,186 
branches  embracing  a  membership,  in  round  figures,  of  20,000,000 
adult  members  and  11,000,000  junior  members. 

Practically  every  square  mile  in  continental  United  States  is  now 
covered  by  some  form  of  chapter  organization.  There  are  fifty-four 
chapters  in  insular  and  foreign  places. 

Map  I  on  the  opposite  page  indicates  the  distribution  of  chapters 
by  States  and  divisions  on  February  28,  1919. 

With  the  combined  adult  and  junior  membership  of  31,000,000, 
nearly  one-third  of  the  entire  population  of  this  country  are  members  of 
the  American  Red  Cross. 

During  the  war  period,  there  were  two  membership  enrolments,  a 
vast  majority  of  the  memberships  being  on  an  annual  basis.  Each 
"drive"  was  held  in  the  week  preceding  Christmas,  the  first  in  1917,  and 
the  second  in  191 8.  Each  resulted  in  an  enrolment  of  about  twenty 
million  people.  The  costs  of  the  two  campaigns  combined  were  in 
round  figures,  $1,450,000. 


lO 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


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STATEMENT  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENT 


II 


Adult  Membership 

The  following  table  and  the  map  on  page  lo  present  comparisons 
of  adult  membership  by  States  as  of  December  31,  1918,  the  member- 
ship being  somewhat  smaller  than  it  was  as  of  February  28,  1919: 

Table  6 

ADULT  MEMBERSHIP,  COMPARED  WITH  POPULATION,  BY  STATES 

December  SI,  1918 


state 


Maine 

Massachusetts  .  .  . 
Rhode  Island    .    .    . 

Vermont 

New  Hampshire  .  . 
Connecticut  .... 
New  Jersey  .... 
New  York      .... 

Delaware 

Pennsylvania  .  .  . 
District  of  Columbia 

Maryland 

Virginia 

West  Virginia  .    .    . 

Florida 

Georgia 

North  Carolina  .  . 
South  Carolina  .  . 
Tennessee      .... 

Indiana 

Kentucky  

Ohio 

Illinois 

Iowa 

Michigan 

Nebraska 

Wisconsin      .... 

Alabama 

Louisiana 

Mississippi     .... 

Montana 

Minnesota  .... 
North  Dakota  .  .  . 
South  Dakota  .    .    . 

Arkansas    

Kansas 

Missouri 


Per  Cent,  of 

Membership 

Population  ^ 

Membership 
to  Population 

158.613 

782,191 

20.28 

946,835 

3,832,790 

24.70 

135.487 

637.415 

21.26 

70.627 

366,192 

19.29 

101,468 

446.352 

22.73 

265,628 

1,286,268 

20.65 

437.748 

3,080,371 

14.21 

1.554.535 

10,646,989 

14.60 

15.634 

216,941 

7.:i 

1.667.758 

8,798,067 

18.96 

54.443 

374.584 

14-53 

188,046 

1.384.539 

13-58 

268,601 

2,234,030 

12.02 

198,407 

1,439.163 

13-79 

100,583 

938,877 

10.71 

175,190 

2,935.617 

5-97 

159.301 

2,466.025 

6.46 

108,378 

1,660,934 

6..53 

176,898 

2,321.253 

7.62 

588,672 

2,854,167 

20.63 

271,878 

2,408,547 

11.29 

1,127.590 

5.273.814 

21.38 

951.076 

6,317.734 

15-05 

736,879 

2,224,771 

33-12 

569.130 

3.133.678 

18.16 

421,821 

1,296,877 

32-53 

519.534 

2.553.983 

20.34 

133.447 

2.395.270 

5-57 

201,094 

1,884,778 

10.68 

148,786 

2,001,466 

7-43 

156,016 

486,376 

32.08 

475.727 

2.345.287 

20.25 

151.985 

791.437 

19.20 

176.875 

735.434 

24-05 

214,571 

1,792,965 

11.97 

482,353 

1. 874.195 

25-74 

924,444 

3,448,498 

26.81 

'  Bureau  of  Census  estimate  as  of  July  i,  1918. 


12 


WORK     OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


State 


Oklahoma 

Texas     

Colorado 

New  Mexico 

Utah 

Wyoming 

Alaska    

Idaho     

Oregon  

Washington 

Arizona 

California 

Nevada  

Insular  and  foreign  places 

Total 


Per  Cent,  of 

Membership 

Population  * 

Membership 
to  Population 

567.521 

2,377.629 

23.87 

1,000,429 

4,601,279 

21.74 

250.574 

1,014,581 

24.69 

47.457 

437.015 

10.85 

102,981 

453.648 

22.70 

44.231 

190,380 

2323 

23.594 

64,912 

36.34 

103,914 

461,766 

22.50 

247,518 

888,243 

27.86 

353.020 

1,660,578 

21.25 

39.317 

272,034 

14-45 

658,123 

3.119.412 

21.09 

22,811 

114.742 

19.88 

105,211 

18,602,759 

105,324,094 

17.66 

\ 


Junior  Membership 

The  Junior  Membership  comprises  what  may  be  termed  "the  Junior 
I  Red  Cross."  In  it  the  school  children  of  the  country  are  organized  for 
educational  and  productive  purposes  under  the  inspiration  of  patriotic 
and  other  altruistic  motives.  During  the  fall  of  191 7  the  Red  Cross 
first  commenced  to  enroll  junior  members.  By  June,  1918,  a  children's 
\^  army  of  8,000,000  had  been  mobilized,  and  by  February  28,  1919,  this 
number  had  increased  to  over  11,000,000. 

During  the  period  covered  by  this  report  the  work  of  the  Junior  Red 
Cross  involved  many  kinds  of  war  activities,  including  the  production 
of  relief  articles,  the  operation  of  war  gardens,  the  conservation  of 
second-hand  articles  and  assistance  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  and  the  American  Red  Cross  in  many  other  lines  of  work.  With 
the  coming  of  peace  the  efforts  of  the  juniors  have  been  extended  to 
helping  the  less  fortunate  children  in  this  and  in  other  lands.  The 
results  of  the  work  of  these  young  people  were  of  considerable  produc- 
tive value  (see  page  25).  Obviously  more  valuable  than  the  material 
I  product  was  the  fact  that  a  new  life  and  interest  entered  the  work  of 
these  school  children  when  they  realized  that  they  were  filling  an 
immediate  and  definite  need. 

The  basic  unit  of  organization  in  the  Junior  Red  Cross  is  the  auxili- 
ary or  school.  A  school  officially  becomes  a  junior  auxiliary  when 
twenty-five  cents  has  been  paid  into  the  Red  Cross  School  Fund  for 

'  Bureau  of  Census  estimate  as  of  July  i,  1918. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


13 


B?   6?  S?    6?   6? 

ift     *n     »o      o     o 
CM      ^     O       00      O 


14 


WORK     OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


each  pupil.  On  February  28,  1919,  there  were  about  90,000  such  auxili- 
aries. On  that  date,  more  than  half  of  all  the  school  children  of 
America  were  members.  In  four  States,  Arizona,  California,  Delaware 
and  Nevada,  all  school  children  were  members. 

The  following  table  and  the  map  on  page  13  present  comparisons 
of  the  Junior  Membership  by  States  as  of  February  28,  1919: 


Table  7 

JUNIOR  RED  CROSS  MEMBERS  AND  PERCENTAGE  OF  MEMBERSHIP  TO 

SCHOOL  POPULATION,  BY  STATES 

February  28,  1919 


State 


Maine 

Massachusetts  .  .  . 
Rhode  Island     .    .    . 

Vermont 

New  Hampshire  .  . 
Connecticut  .... 
New  Jersey  .... 
New  York      .... 

Delaware 

Pennsylvania  .  .  . 
District  of  Columbia 

Maryland 

Virginia      

West  Virginia    .    .    . 

Florida 

Georgia 

North  Carolina  .  . 
South  Carolina      .    . 

Tennessee 

Indiana 

Kentucky  

Ohio 

Illinois 

Iowa 

Michigan 

Nebraska 

Wisconsin 

Alabama 

Louisiana 

Mississippi     .    .    .    . 

Montana 

Minnesota     .    .    .    . 


Per  Cent. 

Junior 

of  School 

Members 

Population 

32,025 

19.25 

507,266 

69.86 

44,948 

40.30 

14,204 

1935 

13,718 

15-38 

154-121 

53-71 

395,497 

67.22 

1,339,9.51 

70.38 

56,050 

100.00 

1,451,059 

86.12 

51,601 

79-90 

140,076 

51-29 

138,208 

27-43 

77,740 

2439 

25,252 

12.20 

164,484 

24.27 

41-667 

6.17 

41-134 

9.66 

74.433 

11.68 

244,621 

40.48 

163,080 

28.59 

387-622 

37-81 

765,473 

58.95 

355.584 

62.64 

552,307 

79-60 

230,645 

75-68 

373.310 

70.68 

15,465 

2.90 

48,502 

13-53 

10,734 

2-15 

81,627 

74.36 

370,628 

71-33 

STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


15 


State 


Per  Cent. 

of  School 

Population 


North  Dakota 
South  Dakota 
Arkansas  .  . 
Kansas  .  .  . 
Missouri  .  . 
Oklahoma  .  . 
Texas  .  .  . 
Colorado  .  . 
New  Mexico  . 
Utah  .... 
Wyoming  .  . 
Alaska  .  .  . 
Idaho  .  .  . 
Oregon  .  .  . 
Washington  . 
Arizona  .  .  . 
California  .  . 
Nevada  .    .    . 


98,417 
85.119 
83.552 
342,900 
510,836 
266,606 
464,799 

117.397 
22,729 

41.595 
17.150 
1,800 
47.049 
84.438 
144.540 
73.900 

637.75s 
14.771 


Total 11.418,385 


6343 
61.39 
18.40 
81.85 
64.92 
50.26 

44-47 
61.31 
27.49 
36.05 
50.10 
56.90 
47-87 
56.23 

56.54 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 

51-49 


Revenues  from  Membership 

The  American  Red  Cross,  as  a  whole,  received  approximately  $42,- 
000,000  from  membership  dues  during  the  twenty  months  ending 
February  28,  1919.  Of  this  total,  about  $3,700,000  from  junior  mem- 
bers was  placed  in  school  funds,  approximately  $18,500,000  was  re- 
tained by  chapters,  $949,838.29  went  in  the  Endowment  Fund,  and 
$18,930,056.17  came  to  the  national  organization  for  general  uses. 

Junior  membership  dues  (twenty-five  cents  for  each  child)  are  placed 
in  "school  funds,"  and  are  used  chiefly  in  purchasing  materials  to  be 
made  up  into  surgical  and  other  relief  supplies  by  the  children. 

There  are  several  classes  of  adult  membership  dues,  but  in  all  cases 
except  the  dues  for  life  members  and  patrons  (all  of  which  are,  under 
the  By-Laws,  credited  to  Endowment  Fund)  part  of  the  dues  is  re- 
tained by  chapters  and  part  placed  in  the  General  Fund  of  the  national 
organization. 

That  part  which  is  retained  by  chapters  is  used  to  pay  the  necessary 
costs  of  operating  these  most  important  units  of  the  organization  and 
to  supplement  the  chapter's  portion  of  War  Fund  collections  when 
funds  received  through  that  source  are  inadequate  to  meet  the  needs 
for  war  relief  work. 

«  This  total  does  not  include  the  300,000  junior  members  in  insular  and  foreign  places. 


l6  WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

• 
The  General  Fund,  in  which  is  placed  the  part  of  membership  dues 
which  comes  to  the  national  organization  (excepting  dues  from  life 
members  and  patrons)  is  provided,  under  the  By-Laws,  to  cover  "the 
general  expenses  of  the  corporation."  The  receipts  which  have  been 
placed  to  the  credit  of  this  Fund  have  been  sufftcient  to  pay  not  only 
the  costs  of  managerial  offices  and  administrative  bureaus,  but  also  to 
finance  the  costs  of  operating  all  relief  bureaus  and  all  bureaus  for 
handling  relief  supplies  maintained  both  at  national  and  divisional 
headquarters,  and  to  carry  on  numerous  specific  relief  activities. 

WAR  DRIVES 

In  order  to  secure  the  major  portion  of  the  funds  required  for  relief 
work,  two  so-called  "war  drives"  were  developed.  Each  "drive"  in- 
volved the  setting  of  a  definite  period  during  which  the  whole  nation 
was  called  on  to  give,  and  the  creation  of  a  comprehensive  organization 
to  attend  to  the  related  work.  In  round  figures,  $283,500,000  was  de- 
rived from  the  two  "drives." 

Because  of  the  importance  of  the  work,  and  its  distinctive  character, 
an  entirely  separate  national  organization  was  created  for  collecting 
and  handling  the  funds.  This  organization  was  headed  by  a  War 
Finance  Committee,  appointed  by  the  President,  and  under  it  were 
local  campaign  committees  covering  the  entire  United  States.  The 
funds  secured  were  collected  in  local  banks,  gradually  transferred  to 
central  depositories  and  then  turned  over  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Red 
Cross  as  needed. 

The  size  of  the  task  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  the  first  "drive" 
there  were  3,929  campaign  committees  and  3,986  banks  of  deposit,  and 
in  the  second  "drive"  3,898  committees  and  8,768  depositories. 

The  funds  obtained  from  the  "drives"  were  divided  between  the 
chapters  and  national  headquarters  under  arrangements  permitting 
the  assignment  to  each  chapter,  for  local  war  work  exclusively,  of  not 
more  than  25  per  cent,  of  the  amount  collected  within  its  territory. 
As  a  result,  18.5  per  cent,  of  the  proceeds  of  the  first  "drive"  and  19.3 
per  cent,  of  the  proceeds  of  the  second  "drive"  were  assigned  to  chapters. 

The  entire  amount  of  the  war  drive  proceeds  retained  by  national 
headquarters  was  placed  in  the  War  Fund,  which  could  be  used  only 
for  war  relief  projects.  To  this  Fund  was  also  credited  interest  earn- 
ings to  the  amount  of  $2,766,403.54.  As  a  result  of  this  practice, 
more  than  $1.01  is  available  Jor  war  relief  from  every  dollar  received  j or 
that  purpose. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


17 


g5  e?  £?  65  u 

1  2  §  i  ^ 

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^  ^  ^  g  ^ 

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i8 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 


All  of  the  proceeds  of  the  two  drives  were  collected  by  campaign 
committees  except  about  $10,000,000  contributed  direct  to  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Red  Cross.  The  table  which  follows  and  the  map  on 
page  17  present  comparisons  of  contributions  to  the  two  drives  com- 
bined, by  States: 

Table  8 

COLLECTED  CONTRIBUTIONS,  FIRST  AND  SECOND  WAR  DRIVES  COMBINED, 

WITH  COMPARISONS  BY  STATES 

February  28,  igig 


state 


Maine 

Massachusetts  .  . 
Rhode  Island  .    .    . 

Vermont 

New  Hampshire 
Connecticut  .  .  . 
New  Jersey  .  .  . 
New  York  .... 
Delaware  .... 
Pennsylvania  .  .  . 
District  of  Columbia 
Maryland     .... 

Virginia 

West  Virginia      .    . 

Florida 

Georgia 

North  Carolina  .  . 
South  Carolina  .  . 
Tennessee    .... 

Indiana    

Kentucky     .... 

Ohio 

Illinois 

Iowa 

Michigan  .... 
Nebraska  .... 
Wisconsin     .... 

Alabama 

Louisiana  .... 
Mississippi  .... 
Montana      .... 

Minnesota 

North  Dakota  .  . 
South  Dakota     .    . 

Arkansas      

Kansas , 


Per  Cent. 

Per 

Per  Cent. 

Collections 

to  Total 

Capita 

to  Wealth 

$1,564,480.08 

.6 

$2.00 

.15 

14.1 14.590.99 

5-2 

3.682 

.22 

2,090,235.69 

.8 

3279 

.22 

503,222.10 

.2 

1-374 

.10 

875,986.16 

•  3 

1.962 

-13 

6,968,947.95 

2.6 

5418 

-30 

9.775.739.48 

3-6 

3-173 

-17 

69,331,242.69 

25-4 

6. 511 

.28 

3,273.524-41 

1 .2 

15.089 

1 .06 

27,283,990.90 

10.0 

3   101 

.18 

1,471,045.04 

-5 

3927 

-13 

2,828,412.77 

1 .0 

2.043 

■13 

2,431,848.98 

-9 

1.088 

.  II 

1,975.827.30 

•  7 

1-373 

.09 

1.070,628.27 

-4 

1 .140 

.  10 

1,632,179.60 

.6 

0.556 

.07 

1.442,430.18 

•5 

0.585 

.08 

1,421,146.56 

•5 

0.856 

.  II 

2,473.516.85 

-9 

1.066 

•13 

4,768,788.58 

1-7 

1 .671 

.09 

2,627,823.14 

I.O 

1 .091 

.  12 

17.737.755-61 

6-5 

3  363 

.20 

15,116,986.97 

5-5 

2.393 

.  10 

4,190,483.36 

1-5 

1.884 

-05 

6,557.562.93 

2-4 

2.093 

.12 

3,206,772.98 

1 .2 

2-473 

.08 

3,812,260.87 

1.4 

1.493 

.08 

1,674.570.22 

.6 

0.699 

.08 

2,575.966.94 

-9 

1-367 

.12 

1,107,837.74 

•  4 

0.554 

.08 

1,126,650.89 

•4 

2.316 

.10 

5,314,540-13 

1.9 

2.266 

.10 

767,235-52 

•3 

0.969 

.04 

565.908.51 

.2 

0.769 

.04 

1. 591.943-01 

.6 

0.888 

.09 

4,669.858.65 

1-7 

2.492 

.lO 

STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


19 


State 


Collections 

Per  Cent, 
to  Total 

Per 
Capita 

9,123,044.48 

3  3 

2.646 

3,072,958.29 

I 

I 

1 .292 

5.256,699.55 

I 

9 

1 .  142 

3.281,983.86 

I 

2 

3-235 

353.814-66 

I 

0.810 

1,161,275.60 

4 

2.560 

640,141.11 

2 

3  362 

984,112.14 

4 

2. 131 

1,972,278.76 

7 

2.220 

3.964,843-37 

I 

5 

2.388 

674,978.60 

3 

2.481 

10,274,068.10 

3 

8 

3-294 

198,610.17 

I 

I -73 1 

161,220.43 

I 

2,177.797-81 

8 

J273, 239,768.98 

100 

00 

52.373' 

Per  Cent, 
to  Wealth 


Missouri 

Oklahoma 

Texas    

Colorado 

New  Mexico 

Utah 

Wyoming 

Idaho    

Oregon      

Washington 

Arizona 

California 

Nevada     

Alaska  

Insular  and  foreign  places 

Total 


.16 
.07 
.08 
.14 
.07 

•15 
.18 
.16 
.10 
.  12 

-13 

.  12 
.04 


.14' 


'       The  first  war  drive  was  conducted  between  June  18  and  June  25, 

1917.  The  goal  set  was  $100,000,000.  Collections  totaled  $114,023,- 
640.23,  an  over-subscription  of  fourteen  per  cent.  For  campaign  and 
collection  expenses  national  headquarters  appropriated  $278,114.27, 
and  it  is  estimated  that  the  chapters  spent  $500,000  for  this  purpose; 
costs,  therefore,  were  less  than  seven-tenths  of  one  cent  for  each  dollar 
collected. 

,;     The  second  war  drive  was  conducted  between  May  20  and  May  27, 

1918.  Again  the  goal  set  was  $100,000,000.  Up  to  February  28,  1919, 
collections  totaled  $169,575,598.84,  an  over-subscription  of  nearly 
seventy  per  cent.  (It  is  estimated  that  when  all  collections  have  been 
received  the  total  will  exceed  $175,000,000,  an  over-subscription  of 
more  than  seventy-five  per  cent.)  Campaign  and  collection  expenses 
totaled  approximately  $1,000,000— less  than  six-tenths  of  one  cent  for 
each  dollar  collected. 

It  is  estimated  that  more  than  43,000,000  people  contributed  to  the 
second  war  drive. 

Indicating  that  interest  in  the  work  of  the  American  Red  Cross  is 
not  confined  to  continental  United  States,  substantial  contributions 
were  received  from  our  insular  possessions  and  from  foreign  countries, 
as  shown  by  the  following  table: 


'  Not  including  insular  and  foreign  places  and  Alaska. 


20  WORK    OF     AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

Table  g 

COLLECTIONS  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES,  FIRST 
AND  SECOND  WAR  DRIVES 

Argentina ^316,347.29 

Brazil 109,719.99 

Canal  Zone 57,849.98 

Chile 172,702.21 

China 97,020.47 

Cuba 242,382.45 

Hawaii 490,931.25 

Japan 60,650.00 

Mexico 92,654.73 

Panama 17,391.50 

Peru      37.760.36 

Philippine  Islands 206,522.35 

Porto  Rico 118,649.87 

Santo  Domingo 78,196.33 

Uruguay 112,797.52 

Other  foreign  countries 86,084.79 

Total » 12,297,661.09 

•  Includes  contributions  made  direct  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Red  Cross. 


Ill 

WORK  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

GENERAL 

The  field  covered  by  this  chapter  includes  a  large  number  of  distinct, 
important  activities.  Certain  activities  were  conducted  almost  entirely 
by  the  chapters.  Others  were  responsibilities  of  forces  which  reported 
to  divisional  and  national  headquarters.  In  all  lines  of  work  there  was 
an  intimate  relationship  between  the  local  and  central  parts  of  the 
organization.  In  carrying  on  the  activities  that  fell  to  them,  chapters 
applied  the  general  policies  worked  out  at  national  headquarters  and 
were  aided  by  supervision  extended  by  their  divisional  headquarters. 

There  is,  therefore,  no  clean-cut  dividing  line  between  work  done  by 
chapters  and  work  done  by  the  national  and  divisional  organizations. 
There  are,  however,  certain  activities  in  which  chapters  played  a  pre- 
dominant part,  and  these  may  be  placed  in  a  group  as  related  activi- 
ties. Likewise,  activities  in  which  the  national  and  divisional  organiza- 
tion played  a  predominant  part  may  be  placed  in  another  group.  This 
plan  has  been  applied  in  the  sections  that  follow,  and,  within  the  two 
major  groups,  each  important  line  of  work  is  discussed  separately. 

CHAPTER  ACTIVITIES 

Production  of  Relief  A  Hides 

Eight  million  chapter  women,  with  the  help  of  many  of  the  junior 
members,  produced  in  the  twenty  months  ending  February  28,  1919, 
over  371,500,000  relief  articles,  with  a  value  of  nearly  $94,000,000,  for 
the  benefit  of  American  and  Allied  soldiers  and  sailors  and  destitute 
civilians. 

For  all  of  this  work  standards,  designs  and  patterns  were  set  by 
national  headquarters.  There,  too,  quantities  to  be  produced  were 
fixed  and  allotted  to  divisions  and  by  the  divisions  to  chapters.  Mate- 
rials were  ordered  through  a  central  point  and  distributed  to  chapters 


22 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


Diagram  2.    Value  and  distribution,  by  classes,  of  chapter-produced 
articles.    Twenty  months  ending  February  28,  1919 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


23 


through  divisional  warehouses.     By  these  and  similar  measures,  every 
effort  was  made  to  have  the  entire  work  handled  effectively. 

The  table  given  below  presents  a  classified  list  showing  the  quanti- 
ties and  estimated  values  of  these  chapter-produced  articles.  The 
values  given  are  conservative,  representing  only  the  cost  of  the  material 
plus  an  allowance  for  labor  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  cents  per  hour  on  the 
time  required  by  an  average  worker.  Thus,  for  the  total  production 
value  of  approximately  $93,978,000,  $61,062,000  represents  material 
and  $32,916,000  represents  labor. 

Table  10 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  RELIEF  SUPPLIES  PRODUCED  BY  CHAPTER  WORKERS 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igig 


Surgical  dressings 

Hospital  garments 

Hospital  supplies 

Refugee  garments 

Articles  for  soldiers  and  sailers 
Unclassified  articles      .... 

Total 


Quantity 


306,966,759 
17,462,400 
14,211,439 

6,328,982 
23.328,831 

3.279.053 

371,577.464 


Value 


514,637,909-35 

22,969,585.59 

5,966,854.20 

7.779.055-73 

41,858,274.72 

766,316.30 

S93.977.995-89 


The  greater  part  of  these  chapter-produced  articles  was  sent  over- 
seas, as  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Table  11 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  CHAPTER-PRODUCED  RELIEF  SUPPLIES 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

Shipped  to  France 138.059,137.35 

Shipped  elsewhere  overseas 12,527,036.26 

Sent  to  camps  in  the  United  States 28,997,721.43 

Balance  on  hand,  February  28,  1919 14,394,100.85 

Total $93,977,995-89 

The  value  and  distribution,  by  classes,  of  these  supplies  is  presented 
graphically  in  Diagram  2  on  the  opposite  page. 

Map  5  on  page  24  presents  a  comparison  between  the  thirteen  Red 
Cross  territorial  divisions  on  the  basis  of  value  of  produced  articles 
per  chapter  member. 


24 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


^     J'. 

^  2 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


25 


In  addition  to  the  production  of  Red  Cross  supplies,  the  Red  Cross, 
through  the  chapter  workers,  undertook  to  make  a  great  many  special 
relief  articles  required  by  the  Surgeon  General  of  the  Army,  the  Gov- 
ernment providing  the  war  materials,  the  Red  Cross  returning  finished 
articles  (without  charge).  Under  this  arrangement,  22,637,625  articles 
were  produced  with  a  total  value  of  $3,334,000. 

The  most  important  single  activity  of  the  junior  members  of  the 
Red  Cross  was  the  part  they  took  in  producing  relief  articles.  Their 
work  in  this  connection  was  not  confined  to  the  standard  articles  made 
by  chapter  women,  but  extended  to  making  furniture,  games,  splints 
and  other  hospital  appliances,  and  specially  prepared  foods.  It  opened 
fields  of  service  to  boys  as  well  as  to  girls.  That  the  children  played 
an  important  part  is  indicated  first,  by  the  fact  that  their  production 
represented  about  ten  per  cent,  of  the  whole,  and  second,  by  the 
following  table  presenting  a  list,  with  quantities  and  values,  of  the 
things  they  produced : 

Table  12 

CLASSIFIED  LIST  OF  RELIEF  ARTICLES  PRODUCED  BY  THE 

JUNIOR  RED  CROSS 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  191Q 


Surgical  dressings 

Hospital  supplies 

Hospital  garments 

Refugee  garments 

Articles  for  soldiers  and  sailors 

Sewing  for  convalescent  and  nurses'  houses     . 

Sewing  for  camps 

Furniture  for  convalescent  and  nurses'  houses 

Furniture  for  Army 

Miscellaneous  furniture 

Total 


Quantity 
(Pieces) 

Value 

6,057,720 

5363.463-20 

2.574,564 

772,369.20 

444.776 

578,208.80 

1,130,188 

1,808,300.80 

3,174,999 

5,238,748.3s 

138-345 

69,172.50 

1,444,507 

722,253.50 

70,084 

404,384.68 

666,445 

193.342.33 

20,450 

2,219.60 

15,722,078 

$10,152,461.96 

Home  Service — Work  for  the  Families  of  Soldiers  and  Sailors 

There  was  a  common   French  saying  during  the  war  which  ran, 

\  "We  will  win  if  the  civilians  hold  out."    The  home  service  work  of  the 

Red  Cross  was  developed  to  help  in  every  way  possible  the  families  of 


26 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


soldiers  and  sailors,  and,  by  preventing  trouble  and  sorrow  as  far  as  it 
could  be  prevented,  to  affect  helpfully  the  morale  of  the  men  in  camps 
and  overseas. 

The  problems  presented  to  home  service  workers  are  as  numerous 
and  varied  as  there  are  causes  for  human  woriy.  Perhaps  the  children 
are  sick,  or  the  landlords  are  harsh,  or  employment  is  needed,  or  money 
is  required  to  bridge  a  temporary  need.  It  may  be  that  discharged 
soldiers  and  sailors  need  a  helping  hand.  Perhaps  the  family  is  con- 
tented, but  wants  information  concerning  allotments,  allowances. 
Army  regulations  or  something  else.  Whatever  the  problem,  the  Red 
Cross  home  service  section  is  very  willing  to  help.  Meeting  these  and 
thousands  of  similar  problems  is  the  "home  service"  task. 

During  the  month  of  February,  1919,  the  Red  Cross  handled  297,000 
home  service  "cases,"  i.  e.,  instances  where  services  were  rendered  or 
information  was  given  to  families. 

It  is  estimated  that  home  service  extended  to  500,000  families  during 
the  period  covered  by  this  report. 

The  growth  of  home  service  work  from  February,  1918  to  February, 
1919,  is  shown  graphically  in  Diagram  3,  below. 


Cases  m  which  families  tUere  furnished  information 


Cases  in  which  families  uJere  rendered  service 


1918- 


1919 


Diagram  j.   Home  service  rendered  to  families  of  soldiers  and  sailors, 
February,  1918,  to  February,  1919 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  27 

Money  expended  in  this  work  is  no  measure  of  the  work  done,  far 
less  of  its  value.  While  thousands  of  families  were  helped  financially, 
the  greatest  help  was  in  the  personal  services  rendered  by  the  workers. 
Nevertheless,  up  to  February  28,  1919,  the  chapters  had  spent  $8,790,- 
000  on  this  work,  while  national  headquarters  expended  $1,204,730.61 
in  operating  the  civilian  relief  bureaus  in  headquarters'  cities  through 
which  the  home  serv^ice  sections  were  organized,  the  workers  trained, 
the  work  developed  and  supervised  and  many  matters  attended  to  that 
could  not  be  handled  locally. 

At  the  start  of  home  servdce  work,  the  chief  difficulty  was  to  provide 
trained  workers.  The  supply  was  limited  to  those  chapter  workers 
who  could  enter  a  home  and  really  assist  the  family  without  undermin- 
ing self-respect  or  the  ability  for  self-support,  and  who  could  spare  the 
time  for  the  work.  To  train  new  workers,  home  service  institutes  were 
organized  by  the  divisions,  and  courses  were  given  through  the  chap- 
ters. In  both  the  institute  and  the  chapter  courses  the  training  con- 
sisted of  classroom  study  and  actual  field  work  in  home  service. 

With  these  trained  workers  as  a  nucleus,  home  service  sections  were 
established  within  the  chapters.  On  February  28,  1919,  there  were 
3,618  sections  with  11,190  branches  and  with  50,000  workers  devoting 
all  or  part  of  their  time  to  the  work. 

Practically  every  square  mile  in  continental  United  States  is  now 
covered  by  home  service  sections,  the  distribution  of  which  by  States 
is  shown  by  Map  6,  on  the  following  page. 

Canteen  Service 

The  Red  Cross  canteen  service  was  developed  to  give  supplementary 
food,  or  complete  meals,  to  moving  troops,  as  well  as  to  distribute 
other  articles  that  would  relieve  the  tedium  of  the  journey;  also  to 
render  personal  services  to  both  sick  and  well  troops  en  route  to  and 
from  camps  and  points  of  embarkation.  Many  canteens  were  equipped 
with  rest  and  reading  rooms,  shower  baths,  etc. 

On  November  i,  1918,  just  before  the  armistice,  there  were  55,000 
canteen  workers  and  700  canteens.  The  location  of  the  canteens  is 
indicated  by  Map  7  on  page  30. 

During  the  twenty  months  ending  February  28,  1919,  more  than 
587,000  men  who  were  ill  or  injured  were  given  medical  aid  that  en- 
abled them  to  proceed  on  their  journey,  while  9,700  men  who  were  too 
ill  to  travel  were  transferred  to  hospitals. 


28 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


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STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  29 

In  the  same  period,  refreshments  were  served  40,000,000  times.  In 
other  words,  each  of  the  soldiers,  sailors  and  marines  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States  during  the  war  was  served  with  free  refreshments  by 
the  Red  Cross  canteen  workers  on  an  average  of  eight  times.  A  classi- 
fication of  the  men  receiving  Red  Cross  canteen  service  is  given  below : 

Table  13 

REFRESHMENTS  SERVED  FREE  BY  RED  CROSS  CANTEENS  IN  U.  S. 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igip 

Soldiers SS.QSs.SQ? 

Sailors 2,423,408 

Marines      3S6,i95 

Drafted  men • 1,216,533 

Total 39.948,733 

A  list  of  the  more  important  items  distributed  by  the  canteens  fol- 
lows : 

Table  14 

SUPPLIES  DISTRIBUTED  FREE  BY  RED  CROSS  CANTEENS  IN  U.  S. 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

Food 

Candy 499.059  (lbs.) 

Chocolate 5,604,349  (bars) 

Coffee 1,497,096  (gals.) 

Cookies,  doughnuts,  pics 10,852,352 

Fruit 162,845  (bu.) 

Ice  cream " 50,117  (qts.) 

Iced  drinkc; 144,059  (gals.) 

Lunches 769,368 

Meals 794,112 

Sandwiches 14,824,869 

Other  supplies 

Cigarettes 70,518,141 

Cigars 185,632 

Gum 2,030,331 

Magazines      .    .    .    * 2,225,835 

Matches 7,968,829 

Newspapers 584,752 

Post  cards 15,956,219 

Soap,  cakes 77.771 

Telegrams  sent 21,920 

Tobacco 108,949  (lbs.) 

Towels,  paper 158,261 


30 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 


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STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  3I 

Motor  Corps  Service 

The  Red  Cross  motor  service  was  developed  to  render  supplementary 
aid  to  the  Army  and  Navy  in  transporting  troops  and  supplies,  and  to 
assist  other  Red  Cross  workers  in  conducting  their  various  relief  activi- 
ties. The  service  is  composed  of  a  number  of  chapter  motor  corps, 
consisting  of  volunteer  women  who  give  at  least  sixteen  hours  a  week  of 
their  time. 

Although  this  activity  was  commenced  early  in  the  war,  it  did  not 
grow  to  large  size  until  the  summer  and  fall  of  1918.  On  November  i, 
1918,  there  were  over  12,000  motor  corps  workers,  most  of  whom  were 
donating  not  only  their  time,  but  also  the  use  of  their  cars. 

During  the  twenty  months  ending  February  28,  1919,  a  mileage  of 
more  than  3,572,000  miles  was  covered  by  the  automobiles  operated  by 
the  motor  corps.  The  diverse  character  of  the  work  during  this  period 
is  indicated  below: 

Table  15 

HOURS  OF  SERVICE  OF  RED  CROSS  MOTOR  CORPS    . 
WORKERS  IN  U.  S. 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  IQIQ 

Canteen  work 65,079 

Military  hospitals 193.954 

Camps  and  cantonments 57.072 

Home  service  workers 104,858 

Outside  aid 80,256 

Other  A.  R.  C.  activities 223,044 

Office  detail 110,484 

Miscellaneous  (including  influenza  epidemic)       246,946 

Total 1,081,693 

Red  Cross  Work  in  Spanish  Influenza  Epidemic 

The  activities  of  chapters  are  a  myriad.  The  work  touched  on  In  the 
preceding  sections  of  this  chapter  has  all  been  of  a  distinctly  war 
character.  However,  even  during  the  war  period  the  tasks  regularly 
assumed  during  peace  times  were  not  Ignored.  While  these  tasks  are 
too  numerous  to  be  mentioned  In  this  report,  an  illustration  of  the 
type  of  work  that  chapters  undertake  aside  from  the  special  obliga- 
tions of  a  war  nature,  may  be  given  by  citing  the  Red  Cross  work  dur- 
ing the  Spanish  influenza  epidemic. 

The  Red  Cross  threw  all  its  available  resources  Into  the  common 
fight  against  this  disease.     Hospitals  were  furnished  equipment  and 


32  WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

supplies,  and  assisted  in  every  possible  way.  Convalescent  houses  and 
diet  kitchens  were  established  and  operated,  and  food  and  other  neces- 
sary supplies  were  distributed.  More  than  18,000  nurses  and  other 
workers  were  furnished  by  the  Red  Cross  chapters  to  care  for  the  sick. 
Countless  face  masks  were  made  and  distributed.  The  motor  corps 
helped  substantially.  The  entire  national  organization  worked  as  an 
active  auxiliary  of  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service.  Up  to 
February  28,  1919,  while  the  disease  was  still  active,  about  two  million 
dollars  had  been  expended  by  the  organization  in  its  work. 

Instruction  in  First  Aid 

The  object  of  the  Red  Cross  instruction  in  first  aid  given  through 
chapters  is  to  teach  men  and  women  how  to  render  emergency  assis- 
tance when  injuries  occur  and  a  physician  is  not  at  hand.  During  the 
period  covered  by  this  report  5,728  classes  were  held  and  instruction  in 
first  aid  was  given  by  2,864  teachers  and  examiners.  63,008  students 
completed  the  course,  passed  the  examination,  and  were  given  the 
Red  Cross  first  aid  certificates. 

ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  NATIONAL  AND  DIVISIONAL  ORGANIZATIONS 

Nursing  Service 

The  Red  Cross  nursing  service  might  well  be  termed  the  epitome  of 
the  Red  Cross  as  a  whole.  Always  one  of  the  most  important  branches 
of  the  organization,  its  importance  is  greatly  enhanced  with  the  coming 
of  war.  During  the  war  period,  its  principal  task  was  to  secure  and 
equip  trained  nurses  for  the  Army  and  Navy.' 

During  the  twenty  months  ending  February  28,  1919,  23,822  nurses 
were  enrolled  as  Red  Cross  nurses.  Of  these,  19,931  nurses  were 
assigned  to  active  duty  with  the  Army,  Navy,  United  States  Public 
Health  Service  and  the  Red  Cross  overseas  service. 

Of  the  number  of  nurses  assigned,  17,986  went  to  the  Army,  1,058 
to  the  Navy,  284  to  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service,  and  603 
to  the  overseas  service  of  the  Red  Cross. 

Over  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  nurses  in  the  Army  Nurse  Corps,  and 
over  sixty  per  cent,  of  those  in  the  Navy  Nurse  Corps,  were  mobilized 
by  the  Red  Cross. 

In  addition  to  the  numbers  mentioned  above  1,177  nurses  who  were 
not  able  to  undertake  active  overseas  service  were  enrolled  as  home 
defense  nurses. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  33 

Vitally  related  to  the  above  was  the  enrolment  of  2,248  nurses'  aids, 
i.  e.,  women  with  a  practical  knowledge  of  nursing,  and  the  enrolment 
of  2,558  dietitians. 

While  the  war  phase  of  the  nursing  work  naturally  had  first  interest 
during  the  war  period,  peace-time  activities  were  not  overlooked. 

Public  health  nursing,  which  involves  community  nurses  whose  duty 
it  is  to  perform  nursing  and  other  public  health  services  within  the 
territory  assigned  to  them,  and  which  promises  to  be  one  of  the  largest 
peace-time  activities  of  the  organization,  was  continually  developed. 
Communities  are  encouraged  to  employ  such  workers  and  the  Red 
Cross  trains,  recruits  and  assigns  qualified  nurses  for  this  work.  A 
great  deal  of  educational  work  is  done,  and  nurses  are  helped  to  obtain 
the  necessary  special  training  by  scholarships,  loans,  etc. 

Considerable  progress  was  made  in  the  teaching  of  home  hygiene  and 
care  of  the  sick,  and  home  dietetics — also  important  branches  of  the 
regular  nursing  service  work.  In  the  tvventy  months  ending  February 
28,  1919,  over  5,000  classes  were  held  in  home  hygiene  and  care  of  the 
sick  in  which  80,000  students  were  enrolled  and  over  60,000  certified 
upon  the  completion  of  the  courses;  over  500  classes  were  held  in  home 
dietetics,  and  more  than  4,500  students  certified. 

Approximately  $3,500,000  was  appropriated  during  the  twenty 
months  ending  February  28,  1919,  for  carrying  on  the  various  phases 
of  the  nursing  service  work  in  the  United  States.  A  single  item  con- 
sisted of  an  appropriation  of  more  than  $3,000,000  for  equipment  of 
nurses  who  were  sent  into  overseas  service.  The  operation  of  the  nurs- 
ing bureaus  at  national  and  divisional  headquarters  which  direct  and 
carry  on  all  of  the  work  described  above  cost  approximately  $465,000. 

Camp  Service 

It  is  believed  that  through  its  "camp  service"  the  Red  Cross  helped 
in  some  way  practically  every  soldier,  sailor  and  marine  in  the  service 
of  the  United  States. 

This  activity,  the  object  of  which  was  to  assist  the  Army  and  Navy 
authorities  to  promote  the  well-being  of  soldiers  and  sailors  in  the 
United  States,  involved  the  distribution  of  comfort  articles,  the  render- 
ing of  service  to  men  in  hospitals,  the  operation  of  a  communication 
service  between  men  and  their  families  and  other  work  of  a  similar 
nature. 

The  operations  of  the  camp  ser\ice  have  extended  to  339  camps, 
hospitals  and  other  military  and  naval  establishments  in  the  United 


34 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


States.     The  places  where  this  service  was  conducted  are  shown  in 
Map  8  below. 

To  perform  the  duties  assigned  to  it,  the  Red  Cross  found  it  necessary 
to  construct  a  number  of  buildings  in  the  various  military  and  naval 
establishments.    Up  to  February  28,  1919,  250  buildings  were  erected, 


Map  8.  33Q  military  and  naval  stations  in  the  United  States 
•where  camp  service  was  conducted 

including  ninety-two  convalescent  houses  where  soldiers  and  sailors 
on  the  road  to  recovery  could  pass  their  leisure  time  and  find  recreation, 
and  sixty-one  nurses'  houses  where  nurses  could  rest  and  amuse  them- 
selves when  not  at  work.  Obviously,  the  good  accomplished  by  these 
houses  cannot  be  measured  statistically,  but  a  classified  list  of  such 
houses  follows: 

Table  16 

RED  CROSS  BUILDINGS  IN  CAMPS  IN  U.  S. 

February  28,  1919 

Convalescent  houses 92 

Nurses'  houses 61 

Headquarters 45 

Warehouses 14 

Garages 28 

Other 10 

Total 250 

The  buildings  and  equipment  cost  approximately  $3,000,000. 
One  of  the  principal  services  rendered  by  the  Red  Cross  in  camps  was 
the  free  distribution  of  comfort  articles  and  other  similar  supplies. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


35 


These  supplies  were  often  given  out  at  the  specific  request  of  com- 
manding officers  who  had  found  that  certain  articles  were  needed  and 
needed  quickly  by  their  men.  Supplies  were  not  distributed  without 
the  permission  of  the  commanding  officer. 

Approximately  2,700  kinds  of  articles  were  distributed  free.    A  list 
of  some  of  the  principal  articles  distributed  follows: 

Table  ij 

SOME   OF   THE    PRINCIPAL   ARTICLES   DISTRIBUTED   FREE    IN   CAMPS   AND 
HOSPITALS   IN   U.    S.    BY  THE   RED  CROSS 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igig 


Bags,  laundry,  etc.     .    . 
Bags,  hot  water  .... 

Blankets 

Books   

Candy  

Canned  fruits  and  v'ege- 

tables 

Chairs,  invalid    .... 

Chewing  gum 

Chocolate 

Chocolate  bars    .... 
Christmas  packages   .    . 


343.960 
1,126 

77.879 
59.780 
14,701  (lbs.) 

5,445  (cans) 
1,907 
38,461  (pkgs.) 
2,839  (lbs.) 

90.375 
616,884 


Cigarettes 8,746,297 


Cigars 

Coat  hangers  .... 
Comforters  and  quilts 
Comfort  kits  and  bags 

Combs 

Crutches  

Cups,  paper  drinking 


22,930 
22,035 
68,984 

963.605 

34.249 

1.233 

844.930 


Envelopes 3,502,247 


Fans,  palm  leaf  . 
Fly  swatters    .    . 
Front  line  parcels 
Games,    checkers, 
games,  etc.  .    . 


card 


5.722 

7.813 
27.887 

160,293 


Gloves 182,611  (prs.) 

Handkerchiefs     ....  355,191 

Jackets 25,654 

Jam  and  jelly      ....  63,106  (cans) 
Knitted  articles: 

Afghans 7.142 

Helmets 985,841 

Mufflers 901,830 

Socks 3,592,126  (prs.) 

Sweaters 4,208,935 

Wristlets 1,199,420 

Other  knitted  articles  3,801 


Magazines 

Masks,  contagious  .  .  . 
Masks,  operating  .  .  . 
Musical  instruments: 

Pianos    

Phonographs     .    .    .    . 

Other  musical  instru- 
ments      

Olives 

Oranges     

Overshoes 


14.324 

1.399.785 

15.037 

31 

61S 


131 

24  (gals.) 

26,316 

28,233  (prs.) 

Pajamas 1,188,062  (suits) 

Pencils 23,680 

Pillows 55.749 

Pillow  cases 98,078 

Pipes      16,351 

Razors I9.97i 

Razor  blades,  safety    .    .  19,010 
Robes,     bath,     convales- 
cent, etc 65,224 

Scrap  books 14.651 

Shaving  soap 40,349 

Shaving  brushes  ....  17. 4^4 

Sheets,  bed 154.693 

Shirts 29.389 

Slippers 45.6i8  (prs.) 

Soap 138,500  (cakes) 


2,380  (gals.) 
57,619  (prs.) 
661,676  (pkgs.) 

5.995 
64,836  (pkgs.) 


Soap,  liquid 

Socks,  cotton,  bed,  etc. 
Surgical  dressings  .  . 
Surgical  instruments    . 

Tobacco     

Tooth  brushes 223,414 

Tooth  paste  and  powder  .         25,237  (pkgs.) 

Towels,  hand 278,958 

Towels,  dish 60,939 

Toweling,  yards    ....  1.513 

Writing  paper 6,307,074  (shts.) 

Writing  paper 477.353  (tabs.) 


36  WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

In  a  sense,  the  most  important  phase  of  camp  service  consisted  of  the 
work  done  for  sick  and  wounded  men  in  the  military  hospitals  in  this 
countr>^  The  task  was  one  of  personal  service — doing  the  thousand 
and  one  things  that  the  regular  hospital  staff  could  not  possibly  do.  As 
far  as  possible,  each  patient  was  visited  every  day.  The  following  table 
presents  statistically  a  record  of  a  few  of  the  services  performed: 

Table  i8 

HOSPITAL  SERVICES  IN  U.  S. 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  191Q 

Visits  to  sick  in  wards 2,539,907 

Telegrams  sent 54,709 

Home  service  cases 42,483 

Sheets  writing  paper  issued 6,052,037 

Post  cards  issued 284,227 

Tablets  issued 120,006 

Stamps  issued 759.507 

Entertainments  given 7.976 

Among  their  other  duties  the  Red  Cross  representatives  in  camps 
and  hospitals  handle  what  are  known  as  "home  service  cases."  Thou- 
sands of  situations  arise  in  which  soldiers  and  sailors  become  worried 
about  their  home  affairs;  they  tell  their  troubles  to  the  Red  Cross 
representative,  and  he  communicates  with  the  local  chapter  workers 
who  do  their  best  to  straighten  out  the  difficulties.  It  sometimes 
happens  that  the  domestic  situation  of  a  soldier  or  sailor  becomes  so 
critical  as  to  make  a  furlough  or  even  a  discharge  advisable.  In  such 
cases  the  Red  Cross  representative  ascertains  the  true  situation  through 
home  service  channels,  and  communicates  with  the  commanding 
officer.    Following  is  a  record  of  this  work: 

Table  iq 

HOME  SERVICE  CASES  IN  CAMPS  IN  U.   S. 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

Furlough  investigations 21,373 

Discharge  investigations 19,298 

Home  service  cases • 173,845 

It  was  often  both  a  necessity  and  a  privilege  to  make  small  loans  to 
men  in  camps  in  great  need  because  of  temporary  financial  worries. 
Loans  were  restricted  to  legitimate  causes,  and  were  made  with  ap- 
proval of  commanding  officers  to  boys  called  home  by  critical  illness  of 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


37 


mother  or  other  close  relatives,  to  casuals  or  men  invalided  home  from 
overseas  whose  pay  was  in  arrears,  to  assist  men  commissioned  from 
the  ranks  in  securing  outfits,  etc.  Up  to  February  28,  1919,  25,803 
loans  were  made,  amounting  to  over  $325,000. 

All  of  the  Red  Cross  work  in  each  camp  or  hospital  was  carried  on  by 
a  field  director,  aided  by  assistants,  home  service  and  hospital  workers 
etc.    On  February  28,  1919,  1,584  people  were  engaged  in  the  work. 

Camp  service  work  in  the  United  States,  taken  all  together,  required 
expenditures  aggregating  about  $38,000,000  during  the  twenty  months 
ending  February  28,  1919.  Of  this,  about  $6,000,000  went  to  purchase 
supplies  and  for  all  other  cash  expenditures,  about  $29,000,000  repre- 
sents the  value  of  chapter-produced  supplies  sent  to  the  camps  for 
distribution  and  about  $3,000,000  was  used  in  constructing  buildings. 
The  operation  of  the  military  relief  bureaus  at  national  and  divisional 
headquarters  which  developed  and  supervised  all  of  this  work,  as  well 
as  related  activities,  cost  a  little  less  than  $570,000.  Mention  may  also 
be  made  in  this  connection  of  contributions  aggregating  $300,000  to  the 
(Federal)  Commission  on  Training  Camp  Activities — organized  by  the 
Secretary  of  War  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  work  involving 
recreation  and  health  of  American  soldiers  and  sailors. 


Map  g.  27  ^ed  Cross  sa?ntary  units  in  U.  S.,  February  28,  igig 


38  WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 

Sanitary  Service 

Closely  related  to  the  camp  service  just  described  is  the  Red  Cross 
sanitary  service,  embracing  sanitary  units,  made  up  of  bacteriologists, 
sanitary  engineers  and  inspectors,  Red  Cross  public  health  nurses, 
other  trained  workers  and  laborers,  which  assisted  Federal,  State  and 
local  authorities  in  securing  sanitary  conditions  in  the  civil  districts 
surrounding  or  adjacent  to  cantonments,  camps  and  naval  bases. 

There  were  thirty-seven  such  units,  covering  in  their  work  approxi- 
mately 1,200  square  miles,  and  located  as  shown  on  Map  9  on  the 
preceding  page. 

Perhaps  the  most  vital  part  of  the  work  of  these  units  was  in  helping 
to  blot  out  certain  diseases  and  in  preventing  the  spread  of  others. 
During  the  twenty  months  ending  February  28,  1919,  391,756  anti- 
typhoid inoculations  and  153,543  smallpox  vaccinations  were  made. 
The  extent  of  the  anti-malaria  work  during  the  same  period  is  indicated 
by  the  following  figures: 

Table  20 

RED  CROSS  SANITARY  SERVICE  IN  THE  PREVENTION  OF 
MALARIA  IN  U.  S. 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

Area  of  malarial  control  operations  (square  miles) 749 

Oil  drip  stations  in  operation 881 

Gallons  oil  distributed 279,093 

Miles  new  ditches  constructed 1,706 

Miles  other  ditches  cleared 1,800 

The  helpfulness  of  the  sanitary  inspection  work  which  formed  part 
of  the  program  is  suggested  by  the  table  that  follows: 

Table  21 

RED  CROSS  SANITARY  INSPECTIONS 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

Supervision  of  water  supplies 

Local  water  supplies  inspected i3'448 

Water  supplies  found  to  be  polluted 3.043 

Bacteriological  examinations  made 16,180 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  39 

Inspection  of  food  supplies 

Restaurants  and  meat  markets  inspected 145,869 

Restaurants  closed 787 

Dairies 

Inspection  of  dairies 22,795 

Dairies  inspected 7.454 

Cows  tested  for  tuberculosis 29,504 

Cows  found  infected 373 

Physical  examinations  of  dairy  employees  and  food  handlers 62,719 

Disposal  of  sewerage  and  garbage 

Sewerage 

Rural  homes  visited  and  inspected 80,892 

Vaults  constructed 13.490 

Sanitary  privies  installed 36,097 

Garbage 

Premises  inspected 282,348 

The  work  described  above  required  194,250  bacteriological  labora- 
tory examinations.  Closely  related  to  this  laboratory  work  was  the 
work  of  four  mobile  (railway  car)  laboratories  which  were  equipped  to 
assist  when  epidemics  threatened  Army  or  Navy  camps.  Up  to  Feb- 
ruary 28,  19 19,  these  cars  had  answered  nine  emergency  calls  and 
treated  8,276  cases. 

To  assist  in  blotting  out  the  so-called  "social  diseases"  near  camps  and 
cantonments,  the  units  operated  twenty-eight  dispensaries  and  treated 
over  40,000  cases. 

The  public  health  nursing  phases  of  the  sanitary  work  deserve  special 
note  because  of  the  important  part  such  work  is  destined  to  play  here- 
after; its  extent  and  nature  are  indicated  below: 

Table  22 

PUBLIC  HEALTH  NURSING  WITHIN  SANITARY  ZONES 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igig 

Visits  made  by  nursing  personnel 

New  patients  visited 53.618 

Nursing  visits 90,602 

Instruction  visits 104,818 

School  visits 21,094 

Follow-up  visits 73.8 n 

Total  nursing  visits 343.943 

School  medical  inspection 

Schools  where  inspection  work  was  done 562 

Children  examined 229,030 

Children  found  defective 81,983 

Corrections  reported 4.389 


40  WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

The  entire  sanitary  service  work  of  the  Red  Cross  during  the  twenty 
months  ending  February  28,  1919,  cost  a  little  less  than  $600,000. 

Communication  Work 

Throughout  the  war  the  Bureau  of  Communication  at  national 
headquarters  answered  requests  for  information  concerning  American 
soldiers  and  sailors  sent  in  by  relations  and  friends  from  over  600,000 
American  homes.  It  had  400  searchers  in  France,  one  with  every 
division  and  one  at  every  American  base  hospital. 

It  required  over  300  workers  at  national  headquarters.  More  than 
100,000  letters  a  week  went  through  this  Bureau.  The  entire  cost  of 
operating  this  Bureau  and  the  Bureau  working  along  similar  lines  for 
prisoners  of  war  was,  during  the  twenty  months  ending  February  28, 
1919,  $184,324.53. 

Disaster  Relief 

Relief  of  sufferers  in  disasters  has  always  been  a  function  of  the  Red 
Cross.  Many  calls  for  this  kind  of  relief  were  met  during  the  war 
period,  but  it  is  possible  to  make  only  brief  mention  of  the  work  in  this 
report. 

During  the  twenty  months  ending  February  28,  1919,  assistance  was 
rendered  in  twenty-five  major  disasters,  twenty  in  the  United  States 
and  five  abroad.  The  range  included  such  occurrences  as  the  Halifax 
and  Perth  Amboy  explosions,  the  Minnesota  forest  fires,  Tien  Tsin 
flood,  etc.    A  classified  list  is  given  below: 

Table  23 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  PRINCIPAL  DISASTERS  IN  WHICH  THE 
RED  CROSS  RENDERED  AID 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  191Q 

Fires 7 

Storms,  cyclones,  and  tornadoes 6 

Earthquakes 4 

Floods     3 

Explosions 3 

Wreck I 

Race  riot i 

Total 25 

For  disaster  relief  work,  nearly  $1,500,000  was  set  aside  by  national 
headquarters  and  the  chapters. 


STATEMENT     OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  4I 

Life-Saving  Work 

Instruction  in  life-saving  is  one  of  the  less  known  but  nevertheless 
important  activities  of  the  Red  Cross  in  the  United  States.  In  order 
to  reduce  the  large  annual  loss  of  drowning,  the  Red  Cross  employs  a 
life-saving  expert  who  gives  lectures  and  demonstrations  throughout 
the  country  and  organizes  life-saving  corps  among  local  groups  such  as 
municipal  police  departments  and  branches  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Dur- 
ing the  twenty  months  ending  February  28,  1919,  191,108  were  in- 
structed in  life-saving  practices. 

Organization  of  Base  Hospitals 

An  important  activity  of  the  Red  Cross  during  the  first  months  of 
the  war  was  organizing  and  equipping  base  hospitals  for  service  with 
the  Army  and  Navy.  The  necessary  personnel  was  usually  recruited 
from  the  staffs  of  civil  hospitals  in  the  larger  cities.  Altogether  fifty- 
eight  base  hospitals  were  organized,  fifty  for  the  Army  and  eight  for 
the  Navy;  forty-seven  of  these  were  equipped  by  Red  Cross  chapters 
with  complete  outfits  of  beds,  beddings,  surgical  instruments  and  other 
supplies  and  accessories,  all  of  which  were  presented  to  the  Govern- 
ment when  the  units  were  mustered  in.  Of  the  total,  fifty-four  served 
overseas,  and  four  in  this  country. 

In  connection  with  this  work,  the  Red  Cross  enrolled,  in  addition  to 
nurses,  orderlies,  etc.,  2,489  physicians  and  fifty  chaplains  for  service 
with  the  forces  of  the  United  States. 

The  chapters  of  the  Red  Cross  spent,  in  round  figures,  $3,000,000  in 
equipping  such  hospitals.  In  addition,  national  headquarters  made  a 
number  of  appropriations  to  meet  special  needs  of  the  hospitals,  in- 
cluding replacements  of  outfits  and  instruments  lost  at  sea,  storage  and 
assembling  charges,  special  instruments  and  equipment  and  contin- 
gency funds  out  of  which  special  foods,  etc.,  could  be  provided  for 
invalids. 

Organization  of  Ambulance  Companies 

Another  and  somewhat  similar  task  undertaken  for  the  Surgeon  Gen- 
eral of  the  Army  involved  recruiting  and  organizing  personnel  into 
ambulance  companies.  Forty-seven  such  companies  were  organized 
by  the  Red  Cross,  with  a  personnel  of  4,760  men.  After  bringing  these 
men  together  and  instructing  them  in  first-aid,  the  Red  Cross  turned 
them  over  to  the  Army  and  they  were  at  once  mustered  into  the 
service.     All  companies  saw  service  overseas.     In  a  few  instances 


42  WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 

equipment  was  provided  by  the  Red  Cross  but  usually  by  the  Army. 
The  equipment  for  these  companies  included  564  ambulances  and  141 
trucks. 

A  directly  related  service  consisted  in  the  securing  of  contributions 
for,  and  purchasing  of,  several  hundred  ambulances  which  were  sent 
overseas  for  use  with  the  hospitals  conducted  by  the  Red  Cross  and  in 
supplementing  the  Army's  ambulance  service.  Approximately  $250,000 
was  contributed  and  expended  in  this  way. 

Other  Medical  and  Hospital  Work 

While  the  work  done  in  organizing  base  hospitals  and  ambulance 
companies  embraced  the  largest  single  tasks  along  hospital  and 
medical  lines  that  the  Red  Cross  performed  in  the  United  States,  the 
many  other  activities  undertaken  in  the  same  general  fields  are  illus- 
trative of  the  part  it  played  in  supplementing  the  work  of  the  Federal 
authorities. 

The  number  of  such  supplementary  activities  is  so  large  that  it  is 
practicable  to  name  only  certain  of  the  more  important,  as  follows: 
providing  for  costs  of  training  reconstruction  workers;  equipment  of 
workshop  for  re-educating  crippled  soldiers;  equipping  mobile  operat- 
ing unit;  contribution  to  aid  in  providing  free  dental  service  to  re- 
cruits first  rejected  because  of  dental  troubles;  allowance  for  expenses, 
enabling  United  States  Army  physicians  to  attend  professional  con- 
ventions; providing  repairs  to  and  supplies  for  hospital  operated  in 
Virgin  Islands  by  United  States  Navy  for  natives,  etc. 

Mention  may  also  be  made  in  this  connection  of  a  contribution  of 
$2,500,000  to  the  National  Tuberculosis  Association  in  support  of  the 
national  anti-tuberculosis  work  carried  on  by  that  Association. 

Red  Cross  Institute  for  Crippled  and  Disabled  Men 

This  Institute  assists  the  Government  in  its  problems  of  re-educating 
crippled  and  disabled  soldiers.  The  work  of  the  Institute  has,  of 
course,  been  supplementary  to  that  of  the  Government,  but  it  has  in- 
volved such  important  activities  as  making  studies  concerning  the 
accomplishments  of  other  countries  in  the  field  of  rehabilitation,  indus- 
trial surveys  determining  trades  for  cripples,  training  teachers,  training 
disabled  men,  and  securing  employment  for  cripples  in  various  lines  of 
industry.  A  large  general  educational  work  has  been  done  to  teach 
cripples  of  the  possibilities  through  training,  to  interest  employers,  and 
to  further  public  interest.  About  seven  million  pamphlets  have  been 
issued  and  over  300  lectures  given  in  this  connection. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  43 

Up  to  February  28,  1919,  nearly  $265,000  was  appropriated  for 
operating  this  Institution. 

The  comprehensiveness  of  the  field  covered  by  the  542  industrial 
surveys  which  have  been  made  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  1,500 
factories  and  100  trade  associations  (national  or  local)  have  been 
visited  and  the  names  listed  of  1,000  firms,  embracing  fifty  trades, 
which  are  willing  to  employ  cripples.  The  results  secured  by  such 
work  have  an  obvious  value  for  civilian  as  well  as  military  cripples. 

Red  Cross  Institute  for  the  Blind 

This  Institute  was  organized  at  the  request  of  the  Surgeon  General 
of  the  Army  to  cooperate  with  General  Hospital  No.  7  and  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  in  caring  for  blind  soldiers  and  sailors. 
Its  work  has  included  industrial  surveys,  evolving  courses  of  instruc- 
tion and  providing  recreational  facilities  such  as  entertainments  and 
libraries  of  books  with  raised  type. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  period  covered  by  this  report  it  was  decided 
that  this  Institute  would  be  responsible  for  the  entire  problem  of 
feeding,  housing  and  training  the  blind  of  the  American  Expeditionary 
Forces.  The  Red  Cross  thus  became  charged  with  the  care  of  over  125 
blind  soldiers  and  sailors,  whom  it  undertook  to  train  in  many  special 
courses. 

To  February  28,  1919,  $173,961.66  had  been  appropriated  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  the  Red  Cross  Institute  for  the  Blind. 

Supplies  Operations  in  the  United  States 

The  Department  of  Supplies  at  national  headquarters,  with  branches 
in  all  divisions,  was  responsible  for  all  centralized  purchasing,  operation 
of  divisional  and  port  warehouses,  and  transportation  arrangements 
both  within  the  United  States  and  to  overseas  points.  The  size  of  its 
task  is  indicated  by  the  following  table: 

Table  24 

SUPPLIES  TRANSACTIONS  IN  U.  S. 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  IQIQ 

Cost  of  raw  materials  shipped  to  chapters  to  be  made  up  into  reHef  supplies  ^3 1,800, 000 
Estimated    approximate    value    of    finished    relief    supplies    received    from 

chapters 94,000,000 

Relief  supplies  purchased  for  shipment  to  camps  in  this  country 4,600,000 

Purchased   supplies  shipped   to  A.  R.  C.   commissions  overseas   (excluding 

chapter-produced  articles) 31,000,000 

Total 5161,400,000 


44  WORK     OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

The  cost  of  conducting  the  entire  Department  including  divisional 
and  port  warehouses  was,  during  the  twenty  months  ending  February 
28,  1919,  $5,530,346.  If  this  amount  is  measured  against  the  supply 
transactions  shown  above,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  percentage  ratio  of 
operating  expense  to  transactions  is  three  and  four-tenths  per  cent. 

Transportation  in  the  United  States  on  relief  supplies  cost  the  Red 
Cross  over  $2,400,000,  $290,000  of  which  was  borne  by  the  chapters, 
the  balance  by  national  headquarters. 

Nearly  $1,750,000  was  appropriated  for  insuring  goods  shipped  over- 
seas against  war  and  marine  risk. 

The  value  of  purchased  goods  shipped  overseas  up  to  February  28, 
1919,  was  over  $31,000,000.  If  the  value  of  chapter-produced  articles 
were  added,  the  amount  would  be  increased  by  more  than  $50,000,000, 
so  that  overseas  shipments  exceeded  eighty  millions  of  dollars.  Large 
purchases,  aggregating  millions  of  dollars,  were  also  made  in  various 
parts  of  Europe. 


Value  T?er  cent  of  total 

Foodstuffs ....^ 9.900.000  r        '  i  5/-73 

Clothinq. ^^onnnoi  3 M-74 

Textiles 4,600,000  f^^       ^ 14  74 

TBlcinhets '3.500.000  1 1 11-22 

IVTiscellaneous 3,500,000  v         "i 11  22 

Motor  yehicles  and 
lYTachines l.ioo.ooo  ^^ 673 

Surgical  Tiistruments 
and  Supplies 1.500.000  ^3 4-8i 

Hospital  Supplies.  1.100,000  H 3-53 

X>ru^3 300.000^.. '96 

Jobber  Goods 100.000  I. -32 


Diagram  4.   Purchased  supplies  shipped  overseas  for  Red  Cross 
work,  classified  by  kind  and  value.     Twenty  monlhs 
ending  February  2S,  igig 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  45 

Following  is  a  table  showing  for  all  supplies,  including  chapter- 
produced  articles,  the  tonnage  shipped  to  the  several  countries  involved, 
and  on  page  44  (Diagram  4)  purchased  supplies  shipped  overseas  are 
classified  by  kind  and  value. 

Table  25 

TONS  OF  SUPPLIES  SHIPPED  FROM  U.  S.  OVERSEAS 
FOR  RED  CROSS  WORK 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

(Tons  of  2,000  pounds) 

American  prisoners  of  war 1,207 

Balkans  (as  a  whole) 5, 791 

England 2,930 

France 52,000 

Italy 16,992 

Palestine 1,118 

Russia 5.842 

Serbian  prisoners  of  war 10,238 

Siberia 3,511 

Miscellaneous 1,465 

Total 101,094  9 

Personnel 

The  workers  in  chapters  are  counted  by  the  million,  and  practically 
all  are  volunteers.  On  February  28,  1919,  the  forces  comprising  na- 
tional and  divisional  headquarters,  overseas  workers,  etc.  aggregated 
14,625  people.  Of  these  1,921  were  volunteers  and  12,704  paid  workers. 
Table  26  on  pages  46  and  47  shows  the  location  of  these  workers,  with 
classified  salaries  to  the  extent  paid.  The  amounts  paid  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  "paid  workers"  represented  what  were  in  effect  "living" 
or  expense  allowances.  The  noticeably  small  number  of  substantial 
salaries  is  due,  of  course,  to  the  fact  that  practically  all  of  the  most 
important  posts  were  filled  by  volunteers — the  exceptions  being  spe- 
cialists whose  resources  would  not  permit  of  their  serving  without 
remuneration. 

»  This  table  does  not  include  the  large  quantities  of  supplies  purchased  in  Europe. 


46  WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED    CROSS 

Table  26 

SCHEDULE  OF  PERSONNEL  AND  SALARIES  OF  THE 
NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION 

February  28,  1919 


56oo 

$600 

$1,000 

$1,500 

$2,000 

$2,500 

$3,000 

$4,000 

or 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

Less 

$1,000 

$1,500 

$2,000 

$2,500 

$3,000 

$4,000 

$5,000 

National  headquarters      .    .    . 

86 

321 

551 

70 

45 

41 

24 

12 

Total  all  divisions 

191 

1,318 

1,117 

223 

123 

41 

63 

20 

Other  locations  in  U.  S. 

Camp  service 

84 

189 

309 

206 

52 

5 

5 

Sanitary  service 

10 

16 

100 

10 

Port  warehouses 

3 

21 

57 

6 

3 

I 

I 

Institute  for  Blind     .... 

2 

4 

2 

I 

2 

Institute   for    Crippled    and 

Disabled  Men 

2 

16 

21 

17 

4 

3 

I 

I 

Red  Cross  Magazine     .    .    . 

3 

3 

6 

1 

I 

I 

3 

5 

Total    other    locations    in 

U.  S 

102 

247 

497 

242 

61 

10 

12 

6 

Total  in  United  States  .    . 

379 

1,886 

2,165 

535 

229 

92 

99 

38 

Foreign  commissions 

Commission  to  France      .    . 

1,260 

1,150 

1,175 

1,200 

64 

126 

48 

20 

Commission  to  Italy     .    .    . 

219 

94 

154 

69 

46 

16 

9 

3 

Commission  to  Great  Britain 

218 

253 

71 

66 

6 

19 

I 

4 

Commission  to  Switzerland 

14 

19 

3 

29 

6 

3 

I 

I 

Other  foreign 

179 

136 

75 

29 

47 

2S7 

79 
138 

29 

Total  foreign  commissions 

1,890 

1,652 

1,478 

1.393 

169 

451 

57 

Grand  total 

2,269 

3.538 

3.643 

1,928 

398 

543 

237 

95 

STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


47 


Table  26 


SCHEDULE  OF  PERSONNEL  AND  SALARIES  OF  THE 

NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION — Continued 
February  28,  IQ19 


^5,000 

56,000 

$7,800 

$10,000 

to 

to 

to 

to 

Total 

Volun- 

Grand 

56,000 

S7,8oo 

$10,000 

$15,000 

teers 

Total 

National  headquarters  .... 

3 
3 

3 

I 

5 

I 

1,162 

67 

1,229 

Total  all  divisions 

3,100 

442 

3.542 

Other  locations  in  U.  S. 

Camp  service 

850 

207 

1.057 

Sanitary  service 

136 

97 

233 

Port  warehouses 

92 

92 

Institute  for  Blind      .... 

3 

14 

20 

34 

Institute    for    Crippled    and 

Disabled  Men 

I 

66 

4 

70 

Red  Cross  Magazine      .    .    . 

— 

I 

- 

24 

24 

Total     other     locations     in 

U.S 

4 
10 

4 

I 
6 

I 

1,182 

328 

1. 510 

Totafin  United  States  .    .    . 

5.444 

837 

6,281 

Foreign  commissions 

Commission  to  France  .    .    . 

IS 

5.058 

802 

5.860 

Commission  to  Italy  .... 

4 

614 

36 

650 

Commission  to  Great  Britain 

3 

641 

240 

881 

Commission  to  Switzerland  . 

76 

76 

Other  foreign 

10 
32 

42 

4 

6 

I 

871 

6 

877 

Total  foreign  commissions 

7,260 

1,084 

8,344 

Grand  total     ..... 

12,704 

1,921 

14,625 

The  Administrative  Organization  in  the  United  States 

Behind  all  of  the  work  described  in  the  preceding  pages,  and  sup- 
porting all  overseas  work  outlined  in  the  chapters  which  follow,  there 
are  the  directing  or  "business"  parts  of  the  organization,  comprising 
together  what  may  well  be  termed  "management  forces."  This  group 
includes  general  and  divisional  management  staff  and  financial,  ac- 
counting, development,  etc.,  bureaus.  Its  main  tasks  are  to  establish 
general  policies,  coordinate  the  work  of  all  parts  of  the  organization,  and 
to  attend  to  its  business  affairs. 


48  WORK     OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

The  results  of  the  work  of  this  part  of  the  organization  do  not  lend 
themselves  to  statistical  measurement.  Perhaps  the  best  measurement 
would  be  that  based  on  a  judgment  of  the  Red  Cross  work  as  a  whole, 
in  that  this  is  the  field  influenced. 

The  cost  of  operating  all  management  or  administration  bureaus  in 
national  and  divisional  headquarters  during  the  twenty  months  ending 
February  28,  1919,  was  $4,359,758.03.  Following  are  certain  compari- 
sons based  on  this  cost: 

Of  each  dollar  received,  one  and  seven-tenths  cents  was  spent  for 
''management." 

The  percentage  ratio  of  "management"  to  "relief"  was  one  and  eight- 
tenths  per  cent.^"   ' 

'"  This  ratio  is  based  on  detailed  computations,  the  basis  of  which  is  set  forth  specifically 
in  published  financial  reports. 


IV 

WORK  IN  FRANCE 

GENERAL 

The  mere  recording  of  the  definite  services  embraced  in  the  Red 
Cross  work  in  France  will  never  approximate  the  story  of  what  that 
work  meant  or  of  its  results  and  value.  This  report  is  limited  to  the 
stating  of  facts.  It  must  be  hoped  that  the  imagination  of  the  reader, 
with  the  definite  record  before  him,  will  translate  the  facts  into  a  story 
wherein  life  and  death  and  humanity  play  the  part  that  they  did  in  the 
work. 

The  Red  Cross  went  to  France  to  render  service.  This  end  was 
never  lost  sight  of.  It  was  controlling  in  all  emergencies;  indeed,  the 
whole  work  was  of  an  emergency  nature.  Formality  or  binding  rou- 
tine had  no  place.  There  was  no  time  for  elaborate  statistical  tabula- 
tion of  work  done.  Statistics  are  lacking  in  many  lines  of  work. 
Nevertheless,  enough  statistics  are  available  to  suggest  the  range  and 
comprehensiveness  not  only  of  the  particular  lines  covered,  but  of  the 
work  as  a  whole.  No  doubt  certain  statistics  are  incomplete,  due  to  the 
conditions  under  which  they  were  prepared,  but  they  are  never  too 
large. 

France  was  at  once  the  seat  of  the  most  important  theatre  of  war,  the  l 
location  of  most  of  the  American  troops  in  overseas  service,  and  the  [ 
country  whose  civilians  had  suffered  most  keenly  from  the  war.  1 

As  a  result,  it  was  also  the  seat  of  the  most  important  operations  of  J 
the  Red  Cross  during  the  war. 

In  that  country,  the  war  had  vitally  affected  every  family  in  every 
village.  In  doing  its  work,  the  Red  Cross  found  it  necessary  to  pene- 
trate into  every  section  of  the  land.  Map  lo,  on  page  50,  shows  the 
locations  of  the  Red  Cross  operations  in  France. 

Cash  appropriated  for  the  work  in  France  during  the  twenty  months 
ending  February  28,  1919,  aggregated  over  $57,000,000.  To  this  may 
be  added  $38,000,000  representing  the  value  of  chapter-produced 
relief  supplies  shipped  to  France,  making  a  total  of  $95,000,000  for 


50 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED    CROSS 


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STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  51 

the  twenty  months'  work  In  that  country.  The  table  that  follows  shows 
by  major  classifications  of  work  how  the  total  amount  appropriated 
for  cash  expenditure  was  used: 

Table  zy 

APPROPRIATIONS  FOR  CASH  EXPENDITURE  IN  FRANCE 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igig 

Canteens  and  rest  stations $3,162,916.83 

General  services  for  American  Expeditionary  Forces 11,349,970.42 

Care  of  refugees 9,22=5,806.34 

Care  of  children 3.013.S05.93 

Medical  and  surgical  service 3.71 1.783.55 

Hospital  supply  service 2,143,697.45 

Tuberculosis  relief 2,372,619.61 

Surgical  dressing  stations 3,311,017.84 

Nursing  service '. 1,239,292.58 

Aid  to  disabled  soldiers 623,746.23 

Relief  of  French  soldiers'  families 3,825,971.03 

Aid  to  French  Red  Cross 1,751,493.69 

Transport  service 5,298,663.29 

Other  relief  operations 2,313,546.90 

Miscellaneous 3,862,972.26 

Total $57,207,003.95 

HOSPITAL  AND  MEDICAL  WORK,  WITH  ARMIES  AND  NAVY 
Hospitals  for  American  and  Allied  Troops 

There  were  twenty-four  Red  Cross  hospitals  in  France  operated  to  ' 
assist  the  medical  service  of  the  United  States  Army.    Although  dif-  ' 
ferent  circumstances  surrounded  the  establishment  and  maintenance  , 
of  each  one  of  these  hospitals,  it  is  generally  true  that  they  were  oper- 
ated jointly  by  the  American  Red  Cross  and  the  United  States  Army 
under  an  arrangement  by  which  the  Red  Cross  supplied  the  manage- 
ment and  equipment,  and  the  Army  furnished  the  scientific  personnel. 
However,  the  Red  Cross  often  assumed  complete  direction  of  the  hos- 
pital, and  sometimes  furnished  physicians  and  nurses. 

Most  of  these  hospitals  were  conducted  for  sick  and  wounded  Ameri- 
can soldiers,  but,  of  course,  French  and  other  Allied  troops  were  also 
admitted.  One  hospital  was  operated  for  the  American  Navy,  one  for 
Czecho-Slovak  troops,  one  for  Army  auxiliary  personnel,  such  as  the 
Y.  M.  C,  A.,  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  the  Red  Cross,  and  one 
for  neighboring  civilian  personnel  whose  health  had  become  a  menace 
to  American  soldiers. 


52  WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

A  summary  of  the  work  performed  in  all  of  these  twenty-four  hos- 
pitals, based  on  incomplete  records,  is  shown  below: 

Table  28 

WORK    IN    TWENTY-FOUR    RED    CROSS    MILITARY    HOSPITALS    IN    FRANCE 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igig 

Patient  days i, 154.854 

Patients  admitted 91.356 

Patients  died 1,457 

X-ray  examinations 29,050 

Foreign  bodies  located 8,297 

Bacterial  counts 8,235 

Blood  examinations 6,827 

Cultures 10,008 

Operations 22,508 

Beds 14,890 

Maximum  bed  expansion I7.75I 

The  growth  of  the  Red  Cross  military  hospital  service  during  the 
months  in  which  America  was  actively  engaged  in  the  fighting  is  shown 
in  the  following  diagram: 


June  M 14.816 

Dec.  I  I 14S.4TI 


Diagram  5.    Hospital  days  in  Red  Cross  military  hospitals  in  France 
during  months  of  America's  most  active  service, 
June,  1918,  to  December,  1918 

As  an  indication  of  the  ability  to  meet  emergencies,  a  complete  1,000 
bed  hospital  was  made  ready  in  forty-eight  hours. 

Convalescent  Homes  for  American  Soldiers 

In  addition  to  the  twenty-four  military  hospitals  mentioned  above, 
the  Red  Cross  operated  twelve  convalescent  homes  for  American  sol- 
diers who  no  longer  required  active  hospital  care  but  had  not  entirely 
recovered  from  their  sickness  or  wounds.  These  homes  had  i  ,245  beds, 
and  2,692  patients  were  admitted.  Patients  were  in  the  homes  a  total 
of  56,739  days  (patient  days). 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  53 

Dispensaries  and  Infirmaries  for  American  Soldiers 

To  assist  the  United  States  Army  in  handling  less  serious  cases  of 
sickness  and  injuries  the  Red  Cross  operated  in  France  eight  infirmaries 
and  thirteen  dispensaries.  Some  of  these  establishments  were  con- 
nected with  Red  Cross  hospitals  or  canteens,  and  three  of  them  were 
limited  to  dental  work.  During  the  period  covered  by  this  report 
52,809  cases  were  treated  in  the  infirmaries  and  128,736  by  the  dis- 
pensaries. 

Hospital  Supply  Service  for  American  Army 

Emergency  depots  of  hospital  supplies  were  always  held  by  the 
Red  Cross  at  the  call  of  the  Army.  It  was  a  supplementary  service, 
but  many  times  it  met  a  vital  need  that  otherwise  would  not  have  been 
met,  admittedly  lending  to  the  saving  of  thousands  of  lives  that  other- 
wise would  have  been  lost. 

Hundreds  of  different  kinds  of  things  were  furnished  on  emergency 
call.  In  addition  to  millions  of  surgical  dressings  and  other  ordinary 
hospital  supplies,  such  things  as  tents,  barracks,  portable  laundries, 
shower  and  delousing  plants,  disinfecting  machines,  sterilizers,  labora- 
tory outfits,  and  ice-making  plants  were  also  distributed. 

A  further  suggestion  of  the  extent  of  this  work  may  be  conveyed  by 
two  illustrations:  in  a  single  day  during  the  heaviest  of  the  summer  of 
1918  fighting,  128  emergency  requisitions  were  received,  each  covering 
from  one  to  fifty  items;  again,  on  one  day  at  the  start  of  the  St.  Mihiel 
offensive,  fifteen  carloads  of  surgical  dressings  and  front-line  packages 
were  shipped  to  the  American  front. 

What  might  be  termed  the  mechanical  aspect  of  this  work  reached 
an  unusual  standard  of  effectiveness,  which  may  be  illustrated  by  two 
instances:  a  request  for  15,000  articles  of  various  kinds,  including  medi- 
cal supplies,  food,  and  comforts,  required  for  immediate  use  on  the 
American  front,  was  received  in  Paris  at  4  p.  m.,  the  goods  assembled 
from  three  warehouses  and  delivered  at  the  front  at  midnight;  in  an- 
other case,  a  marine  officer  arrived  in  Paris  at  i  a.  m.  with  a  large, 
urgent  order,  was  given  a  bed  to  rest  in  and  then  started  on  his  way 
back  to  Chateau-Thierry  at  3  a.  m.,  with  his  supplies  loaded  in  three 
camionettes. 

Red  Cross  Supply  Service  for  French  Hospitals 

The  Red  Cross  operated  a  similar  supply  service  for  French  hospi- 
tals, practically  all  of  which  were  in  desperate  need  of  supplies.    Up  to 


J 


54  WORK     OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

February  28,  1919,  this  service  had  been  extended  to  3,780  institutions. 
Milhons  of  articles  of  hundreds  of  different  kinds  and  aggregating  in 
weight  more  than  3,820,000  pounds  have  been  distributed  in  this  work. 
There  was  another  Hne  of  Red  Cross  work  directly  affecting  French 
hospitals,  viz.,  a  visiting  service,  conducted  by  Red  Cross  women,  for 
the  benefit  of  wounded  American  soldiers  who  had  been  brigaded  with 
the  French. 

Production  and  Supply  of  Splints 

At  the  request  of  the  Army,  the  Red  Cross  undertook  to  supply  the 
American  Expeditionary  Forces  with  all  necessary  splints.  By  means 
of  orders  placed  with  private  firms  and  the  operation  of  a  factory  in 
France  a  complete  supply  was  made  available  for  American  soldiers 
at  no  cost  to  the  Army.    More  than  294,000  splints  were  supplied. 

Production  and  Supply  of  Nitrous  Oxide  and  Oxygen 

The  Army  also  relied  on  the  Red  Cross  for  its  full  supply  of  nitrous 
oxide  and  oxygen.  (Nitrous  oxide  is  a  new"  and  improved  anaesthetic, 
particularly  valuable  in  cases  where  patients  are  too  weak  to  take 
ether.)  The  Red  Cross  met  this  requirement  by  means  of  shipments 
from  America  and  the  organization  of  production  in  France.  No  charge 
was  made  for  this  service. 

The  following  table  gives  statistics  concerning  the  production  and 
distribution  of  these  commodities: 

Table  2g 

RED  CROSS   PRODUCTION  AND  SUPPLY  OF  NITROUS  OXIDE  AND  OXYGEN 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

Distribution  of  nitrous  oxide  Gallons 

Army      ■ 3,176,256 

Red  Cross  hospitals 405,620 

Miscellaneous 251,110 

Total 3,832,986 

Distribution  of  oxygen 

Army 299.510 

Red  Cross  hospitals i55.320 

Miscellaneous 52,560 

Total • S07.390 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  55 

Reconstruction  and  Re-education 

The  Red  Cross  operated  a  service  to  assist  the  American  and  French 
Governments  in  their  problems  of  re-educating  crippled  and  disabled 
soldiers  and  sailors.  Certain  aid  of  a  less  extensive  character  was  also 
given  to  disabled  Serbians.  Mention  has  already  been  made  (see  page 
42)  of  work  along  similar  lines  done  by  the  Red  Cross  in  America 
through  its  Institute  for  Crippled  and  Disabled  Men,  which  should  be 
referred  to  in  this  connection. 

The  relief  of  French  mutiles  included  the  operation  of  a  school  farm, 
the  manufacture  of  portrait  masks  and  artificial  limbs,  the  operation  of 
an  educational  and  publicity  service,  and  assistance  to  French  institu- 
tions offering  commercial  and  industrial  courses  to  mutiles.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  65,000  of  the  600,000  crippled  French  soldiers  were  reached 
by  the  Red  Cross.  Statistics  concerning  this  work  are  given  in  the 
table  below: 

Table  jo 

RED  CROSS  AID  TO  FRENCH  MUTILES 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igig 

Instruction  in  farming 

Men  instructed 123 

Teaching  days 5.327 

Portrait  masks  made 94 

Artificial  limb  apparatus  distributed 2,284 

Men  attending  lectures  on  reconstruction 39.200 

Leaflets  distributed 46,000 

Men  helped  through  donations  to  French  institutions 56.426 

To  assist  American  disabled  soldiers,  the  Red  Cross  collected  infor- 
mation for  the  United  States  Government  and  undertook  an  educa- 
tional campaign  to  spread  information  concerning  reconstruction  pos- 
sibilities. It  is  estimated  that  the  majority  of  the  230,000  American 
troops  who  were  injured  in  battle  were  reached  by  the  Red  Cross. 
Statistics  concerning  this  work  are  given  below: 

Table  ji 

RED  CROSS  AID  TO  DISABLED  AMERICAN  SOLDIERS  IN  FRANCE 

Twenty  Months  Eliding  February  28,  igig 

Talks  in  huts  and  wards 3,929 

Men  reached  by  talks 136,400 

Personal  conferences  hold 64,255 

Applications  for  training  courses 27,210 

Bulletins  distributed 559. 500 


56 

General 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 
CANTEENS 


The  best  story  of  the  Red  Cross  canteen  service  is  one  that  would  be 
given  by  the  men  who  were  benefited  by  it.  However,  the  following 
simple  record  is  bound  to  carry  definite  meaning: 

Table  32  ■ 

SUMMARY  STATISTICS  OF  RED  CROSS  CANTEENS  IN  FRANCE 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  iqiq 

Canteens  operated 130 

Men  served 15,376,324 

Meals  furnished 6,153,595 

Drinks  furnished 12,701,850 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  all  service  except  complete  meals  was 
rendered  free,  and  only  a  nominal  charge  exacted  for  meals. 

Front-line  Canteens 

The  canteen  work  right  up  by  the  front  lines  is  undoubtedly  the  most 
interesting  part  of  the  whole  canteen  service.  In  this  work,  men  often 
worked  under  shell-fire  for  days,  beset  by  difficulties,  surrounded  with 


Diagram  6.    Thousands  of  drinks  served  in  Red  Cross  canteens  at  the  front, 
by  months,  September,  1917,  to  December,  igi8 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  57 

dangers,  distributing  hot  drinks,  cigarettes,  tobacco,  chocolate,  medi- 
cal supplies  and  other  articles  to  American  and  French  soldiers  near 
the  front  lines.  There  were  twenty-two  of  these  canteens  and  six  out- 
posts, through  which  5,788,110  hot  drinks  were  given  away.  The 
growth  of  this  service  is  shown  by  Diagram  6  on  the  opposite  page. 

Line  of  Communication  Canteens 

On  the  railroad  lines  connecting  the  French  cities  with  the  front,  the 
Red  Cross  operated  seventy-five  canteens  for  the  benefit  of  American 
and  Allied  soldiers  in  transit.  This  service  added  to  the  comfort  of 
the  passing  troops  by  furnishing  meals,  refreshments,  baths,  and 
shelter,  and  by  administering  to  the  sick  and  wounded.  Summary 
statistics  of  this  work,  which  by  no  means  tell  the  complete  story,  are 
given  below: 

Table  33 

RED  CROSS  LINE  OF  COMMUNICATION  CANTEENS 

Twenty  Moriths  Ending  February  28,  igiQ 

Meals  furnished  in  canteens 2,350,272 

Men  served  from  station  platform 2,444,116 

Men  served  in  dormitories,  infirmaries,  and  rest  rooms 286,026 

Drinks  furnished 5,484,102 

Doughnuts  furnished 358,179 

Aviation  Canteens 

In  four  American  aviation  camps  the  Red  Cross  operated  canteens 
which  performed  a  combination  of  canteen  and  camp  service,  distribut- 
ing food,  clothing,  games,  and  comforts.  The  following  table  gives 
statistics  concerning  a  part  of  this  work: 

Table  34 

RED  CROSS  AVIATION  CANTEENS 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  IQIQ 

Men  served 98,178 

Drinks  furnished 614,638 

Magazines  furnished 11,460 

Garments  furnished 5.961 

Garments  mended .    .    , 5. 769 

Men  served  in  barber  shop 44420 

Loans  of  books 38>45i 


58  WORK     OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

Evacuation  Hospital  Canteens 

The  Red  Cross  conducted  sixteen  canteens  in  evacuation  hospitals 
of  the  United  States  Army.  This  service  distributed  refreshments, 
furnished  special  food  for  the  sick  and  wounded  and  operated  rest 
rooms  and  recreation  houses.  Every  United  States  sanitary  train  was 
visited,  and  cigarettes,  gum  and  cocoa  given  to  each  individual.  Sta- 
tistics concerning  this  work  are  given  below: 

Table  35 

RED  CROSS  CANTEENS  IN  EVACUATION  HOSPITALS 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igig 

Drinks  of  cocoa  furnished 815,000 

Cigarettes  distributed      2,845,000 

Papers  and  magazines  distributed 49,180 

Letters  written 5,200 

Metropolitan  Canteens 

In  the  metropolitan  area  of  Paris,  the  Red  Cross  opeiated  thirteen 
canteens  to  provide  food  and  lodging  for  American  and  French  troops. 
The  service  rendered  by  these  canteens  is  shown  below: 

Table  j6 

RED  CROSS  METROPOLITAN  CANTEENS 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

Meals  furnished  American  soldiers 630,740 

Meals  furnished  French  soldiers 3.170,933 

Meals  furnished  wounded  soldiers 1,650 

Total  meals  furnished      3,803,323 

Beds  supplied  American  soldiers 41,285 

In  addition  to  the  metropolitan  canteens  mentioned  above,  the  Red 
Cross  financed  either  wholly  or  in  part  twelve  other  canteens  in  the 
Paris  area  controlled  by  the  French.  During  the  period  covered  by  this 
report  these  canteens  furnished  4,213,200  meals. 

RECREATIONAL  AND  WELFARE  SERVICE  FOR  SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS 

Representatives  of  the  Red  Cross  were  attached  to  every  United 
States  division  and  naval  station  in  France.     Their  task  was  to  do 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  59 

everything  that  could  be  done  legitimately  to  aid  the  troops  and  to 
add  to  their  comfort.  Through  them,  troops  in  financial  troubles 
were  aided;  if  family  troubles  developed,  steps  were  taken  to  assure 
that  the  Red  Cross  organization  in  the  States  reached  out  a  helping 
hand  to  the  family  concerned ;  thousands  of  letters  were  written  for 
boys  unable  to  write;  personal  services  of  numerous  kinds  were  ren- 
dered; newspapers  and  periodicals  were  distributed  by  the  millions; 
all  activities  for  entertaining  the  troops  were  fostered;  comfort  sup- 
plies were  issued  by  the  million — particularly  the  knitted  sweaters, 
socks,  etc.,  made  by  the  chapter  women  in  America. 

A  list  of  the  kinds  of  things  distributed  would  fill  a  volume.  The 
extent  of  the  service  may  be  suggested  by  mention  of  a  few  items  se- 
lected at  random:  barracks,  books,  coal,  communion  services,  Christ- 
mas gifts,  flags,  footballs,  baseballs,  playing  cards,  ice-cream  freezers, 
moving-picture  films,  pianos,  phonographs,  needles,  printing  presses, 
shaving  outfits,  stoves,  tea,  cigarettes,  tobacco  and  writing  materials. 

Perhaps  one  example  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  important  character 
of  the  work  performed  by  the  Red  Cross  representatives  with  the 
Army.  Just  before  a  certain  division  was  expected  to  make  an  attack, 
a  Red  Cross  captain  was  urgently  asked  for  additional  ambulances. 
By  motoring  through  the  night  to  Paris  this  man  was  able  to  appear 
at  the  front  the  next  day  with  ten  ambulances,  which  performed  such 
effective  service  under  fire  that  all  the  drivers  were  cited  for  bravery. 

HOME  AND  HOSPITAL  SERVICE  FOR  SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS 

This  work  was  essentially  the  same  as  the  camp  service  work  in 
hospitals  in  the  United  States.  It  confined  its  efforts  very  largely  to 
the  sick  and  wounded  American  soldiers  and  sailors  in  hospitals,  pro- 
viding dainties,  comforts,  recreation  for  them  and  a  communication 
service  which  kept  relatives  at  home  informed  regarding  the  welfare 
and  whereabouts  of  their  boys. 

Hospital  Farms  and  Gardens 

This  phase  of  the  work  included,  among  other  things,  the  operation! 
of  hospital  farms  and  gardens  which  served  the  double  purpose  of 
furnishing  healthful  exercise  to  convalescent  soldiers  and  providing 
the  patients  with  fresh  vegetables.    Statistics  showing  the  nature  of 
this  work  follow: 


60  WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 

Table  J7 

RED  CROSS  HOSPITAL  FARMS  AND  GARDENS  IN  FRANCE 
Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  191Q 

Farms  and  gardens  operated 23 

Acreage 374 

Convalescents  employed  (daily  average) 113 

Hours  of  convalescent  labor 77.130 

Hospital  Recreational  Huts 

These  were  club-rooms  for  the  convalescents,  where  entertainment 
and  light  refreshments  were  provided,  and  where  the  recovering  soldier 
could  rest  quietly  in  pleasant  surroundings  with  books,  periodicals, 
home  papers  and  writing  materials  at  hand.  Perhaps  the  most  appre- 
ciated element  was  the  opportunity  to  enjoy  the  companionship  of  the 
American  Red  Cross  girls  by  whom  the  huts  were  operated.  There 
were  ninety-nine  of  these  huts. 

Another  service  rendered  in  the  huts,  or  in  adjoining  hospital  build- 
ings, that  deserves  special  mention  is  the  moving-picture  operations. 
An  idea  of  the  extent  of  this  service  is  given  below: 

Table  38 

RED  CROSS  MOVING  PICTURES  FOR  HOSPITALS 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 

Moving  picture  machines  installed 90 

Film  plays  in  use      617 

Feet  of  films  in  use 1,418,000 

Feet  of  films  passed  in  shows 54,895,700 

Shows  given 6,697 

Attendance  at  shows 3.109,590 

Hours  of  entertainment 10,005 

Home  Communication  Service 

This  work  which  involved  the  keeping  of  relatives  at  home  informed 
as  to  the  welfare  and  whereabouts  of  soldiers  was  conducted  all  over 
France  but  particularly  with  the  men  in  hospitals.  Through  trained 
searchers,  news  of  the  sick  and  wounded  was  gathered,  details  of 
deaths  were  ascertained  and  men  reported  as  missing  were  traced. 
The  value  of  this  service  to  the  affected  relatives  may  be  imagined. 
The  part  that  the  Red  Cross  played  in  locating  men  first  reported  as 
missing  was  a  very  large  one. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  6l 

The  extent  of  service  rendered  along  the  hnes  mentioned  above  is 
indicated  by  the  following  table: 

Table  jg 

RED  CROSS  HOME  COMMUNICATION  SERVICE  IN  FRANCE 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igig 

Reports  on  well,  wounded,  and  dead 105,456 

Reports  on  prisoners,  missing,  and  details  of  deaths 28,407 

Letters  written •    219,939 

Grave  Photography 

A  service  directly  related  to  that  described  above  is  the  work  of 
photographing  the  graves  of  all  American  boys  who  died  in  France. 
This  entire  work  was  done  by  the  Red  Cross.  The  family  of  every  boy 
whose  grave  is  distinguishable  has  received,  or  will  receive,  a  picture 
of  his  grave.  This  work,  now  nearly  completed,  has  involved  the  tak- 
ing of  some  170,000  photographs  under  all  kinds  of  difficulties. 

CIVILIAN  RELIEF 

Relief  of  Refugees 

Caring  for  the  millions  of  refugees  who  had  evacuated  before  the 
German  advances  presented  an  enormous  task  to  the  French  Govern- 
ment, and  one  that  the  Government  asked  the  Red  Cross  to  take  a 
large  part  in. 

From  the  start  the  fundamental  principle  in  the  Red  Cross  work 
with  refugees  was  to  work  through  and  with  all  available  French 
agencies  rather  than  to  attempt  to  establish  an  independent  service. 

Working  with  such  agencies,  the  task  was  to  provide  food,  clothing, 
shelter,  medical  attendance  and  employment.  Particular  mention 
should  be  made  of  the  splendid  work  done  by  the  English  and  American 
Friends,  with  whom  the  Red  Cross  has  cooperated. 

Almost  every  conceivable  difificulty  had  to  be  overcome,  but  the  Red 
Cross  work  directly  assisted  1,726,354  refugees. 

A  few  statistics  concerning  this  work  follow: 


62  WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 

Table  40 

RELIEF  OF  FRENCH  REFUGEES 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  igig 

Total  refugees  aided 1,726,354 

Dwellings  provided 996 

Hospitals  and  dispensaries  operated 67 

Refugees  aided  in  hospitals  and  dispensaries 190,575 

Dispensaries  operated  jointly  by  the  Red  Cross  and  the  French 5 

Refugees  aided  in  joint  dispensaries 37.581 

Refugee  canteens  operated 8 

Refugees  fed  at  canteens 66,419 

Workrooms  operated 68 

This  list  makes  no  mention  of  the  thousands  of  tons  of  suppHes  that 
were  distributed,  nor  of  many  of  the  arrangements  that  were  made  to 
provide  employment. 

With  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  this  work  took  on  a  different  form 
— that  of  helping  the  people  as  they  returned  to  the  devastated  area. 
It  has  involved  a  much  larger  task  than  the  work  before  the  armistice, 
for  it  brings  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  families  in  great  need  essential 
assistance  in  re-establishing  their  homes  and  is  of  a  permanent  rather 
than  transient  value. 

Communities  have  been  encouraged  to  organize  committees  to  deal 
with  their  problems;  the  Red  Cross  is  now  working  with  200  such  com- 
mittees, covering  in  their  work  1,200  towns  and  villages.  Through  the 
committees,  the  Red  Cross  is  distributing  tens  of  thousands  of  tons  of 
needed  supplies  of  a  value  of  many  millions  of  dollars. 

Relief  of  French  Soldiers'  Families 

After  three  years  of  war,  the  families  of  thousands  of  the  French 
soldiers  were  in  desperate  need.  Such  a  condition  naturally  reacted  on 
the  morale  of  the  troops.  The  French  Government  welcomed  the  aid 
of  the  Red  Cross  in  coping  with  the  situation.  As  a  result,  the  Red 
Cross  operated  what  was  in  effect  "home  service"  for  the  families  of 
French  soldiers. 

The  main  work  took  the  form  of  a  wide  distribution  of  cash  to  assist 
in  meeting  the  necessities  of  life.  At  first  the  distribution  was  made 
through  the  officials  of  the  territorial  departments  of  the  French 
Government.  Later,  the  gifts  were  made  to  families  recommended 
through  the  commanding  officers  of  all  parts  of  the  French  Army. 

Families  to  the  number  of  87,652  were  aided  in  this  way  up  to  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1919. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  63 

Children's  Relief  Work 

The  welfare  of  children  could  not  be  given  much  care  by  a  country- 
harassed  as  France  was  by  war,  and,  after  three  years  of  it,  there  was 
great  need  for  work  among  children.  It  was  in  this  way  that  one  of 
the  most  important  branches  of  the  Red  Cross  work  in  France  de- 
veloped. The  work  had  so  many  human  elements  in  it  that  it  is  with 
hesitancy  that  any  mention  is  made  of  it  in  a  statistical  way. 

The  main  task  was  to  cope  with  under-feeding,  under-nourishment 
and  lack  of  medical  care.  As  far  as  possible,  the  work  was  done  by 
encouraging  and  supporting  French  agencies,  but  in  many  places 
operations  were  carried  on  directly  by  the  Red  Cross — a  necessity 
particularly  in  the  case  of  hospitals,  dispensaries  and  clinics. 

An  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  work  is  given  by  the  following  table: 

Table  41 

children's  relief  work  in  FRANCE 

Ttventy  Months  Ending  February  28,  IQ19 

Hospitals  and  convalescent  homes  operated 25 

Patients  treated  in  hospitals  and  convalescent  homes 16,346 

Dispensaries  and  clinics  operated 99 

Patients  treated  in  dispensaries  and  clinics 189,111 

School  children  served  in  canteens 32,000 

Children  taught  to  play 27,000 

Child-welfare  expositions  held 7 

Attendance  at  expositions 625,000 

Children's  institutions  or  societies  aided 519 

Mention  should  also  be  made  in  this  connection  of  the  Red  Cross 
work  involved  in  selecting  more  than  two  thousand  French  war 
orphans  for  "adoption"  by  individuals  or  military  units  in  the  American 
Expeditionary  Forces  by  contributions  made  through  "Stars  and 
Stripes" — the  official  newspaper  of  the  A.  E.  F. 

While  the  immediate  value  of  the  children's  work  in  France  is  self- 
suggestive,  no  doubt  a  great  permanent  gain  will  be  made  through  the 
stimulation  this  work  gave  to  all  welfare  work  with  children. 

Anti-Tuberculosis  Work 

Work  in  combatting  tuberculosis  also  naturally  suffered  because  all 
French  efforts  were  centered  on  the  war,  and  there  was  a  large  increase 
in  the  disease  directly  from  the  war's  effects.  In  this  field,  too,  the 
Red  Cross  was  able  to  undertake  large  and  important  work,  in  co- 
operation with  the  Commission  for  the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis, 


■^A 

i 


I 


64  WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 

financed  by  the  Rockefeller  Foundation.    Substantial  cooperative  aid 
was  given  in  this  work  by  the  Societe  des  Tuherculeux  de  la  Guerre. 

Again,  the  main  efforts  of  the  Red  Cross  were  directed  towards 
assisting  in  every  way  possible  existing  French  agencies  engaged  in 
such  work.  In  only  a  few  instances  were  institutions  operated  directly 
by  the  Red  Cross.    A  brief  statistical  summary  of  the  work  follows : 

Table  42 

ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS  WORK  IN  FRANCE 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  IQIQ 

Tuberculosis  institutions  aided 847 

New  beds  added  to  tuberculosis  institutions 2,678 

Red  Cross  tuberculosis  hospitals  operated S 

Beds  in  Red  Cross  hospitals 675 

Patient  days  in  Red  Cross  hospitals 172,942 

Patients  cared  for  other  than  in  Red  Cross  hospitals 4.423 

The  Red  Cross  part  in  anti-tuberculosis  work  in  France  extended 
beyond  the  work  for  French  nationals  just  described.  To  mention 
only  two  instances,  it  assisted  in  the  development  of  a  hospital  for  use 
by  tubercular  American  troops  prior  to  their  return  to  the  States,  and 
directly  aided  agencies  for  tubercular  Serbians  in  France. 

OTHER  ACTIVITIES 

The  preceding  pages  have  covered  only  the  major  tasks  undertaken 
by  the  Red  Cross  in  France.  Space  does  not  admit  of  mentioning  each 
of  the  many  other  activities,  which  included  important  research  work 
along  medical  lines,  emergency  relief  to  stranded  Americans  and  to  the 
nationals  of  Allied  nations,  support  given  to  the  French  Red  Cross 
(including  a  contribution  of  approximately  $1,750,000)  and  assisting 
U.  S.  Army  nurses  by  equipment  issues,  supplementary  allowances,  etc. 

Nor  is  this  the  place  to  deal  with  the  Red  Cross  organization  in 
France  as  an  organization,  or  with  the  personnel  that  made  up  the 
organization.  Perhaps  the  record  presented  in  the  preceding  pages 
gives,  by  itself,  an  idea  of  the  forces  that  carried  on  the  work  described. 


V 

WORK  ELSEWHERE  OVERSEAS 

GENERAL 

Outside  of  the  work  in  France,  the  Red  Cross  did  rehef  work  in 
twenty-four  foreign  countries  during  the  period  covered  by  this  re- 
port. That  this  work,  which  is  brought  together  under  the  caption 
"Work  Elsewhere  Overseas,"  was  not  insignificant  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  cash  appropriated  for  it  aggregated  over  $63,000,000,  while 
the  value  of  chapter  relief  supplies  used  in  it  was  approximately 
$12,000,000,  producing  a  total  of  $75,000,000  for  the  twenty  months 
ending  February  28,  1919. 

While  different  kinds  of  work  were  carried  on  in  each  country,  in 
accordance  with  the  particular  needs  of  the  country  concerned,  there 
were  practically  no  kinds  of  work  that  were  not  also  undertaken  in 
France.  It  might  almost  be  said  that  the  work  in  each  country  was 
simply  a  duplication,  in  a  smaller  way,  of  the  work  done  in  France, 
though,  of  course,  there  was  no  need  in  certain  places  of  particular 
activities  that  were  greatly  needed  in  France.  In  each  place,  the 
endeavor  was  to  do  the  things  that  were  most  needed  and  thereby  to 
strengthen  the  Allied  nation  where  it  was  weakest — always,  of  course, 
confining  activities;  to  the  field  that  the  Red  Cross  could  properly 
undertake. 

Because  of  these  circumstances,  and  because  of  a  desire  to  make  this 
report  as  brief  as  it  can  be  made  consistent  with  comprehensiveness, 
details  of  the  work  done  in  each  country  outside  of  France  will  not 
be  presented — dependence  being  placed  on  the  descriptions  of  each 
kind  of  work  that  have  been  given  in  the  preceding  chapter,  which 
is  devoted  to  the  work  in  France. 

The  present  chapter  will  be  confined  to  brief  mention  of  the  main 
lines  of  work  carried  on  in  each  country  in  which  the  Red  Cross  oper- 
ated extensively. 

The  table  that  follows  shows  the  cash  appropriations  for  the  coun- 
tries where  the  important  operations  were  conducted: 


66  WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 

Table  43 

APPROPRIATIONS  FOR  CASH  EXPENDITURE  ELSEWHERE  OVERSEAS 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  iqiq 

Belgium 13,875,161.12 

Italy 11,972,819.11 

British  Isles 11,267,304-53 

Switzerland 5.972,777-38 

Palestine  and  Near  East 8,320,211.32 

Balkans 4,569,868  96 

Russia  (excluding  .Siberia) 2,240,167.02 

Siberia 8,225,769.67 

Other  activities  overseas 7.396,575-93 

Total 563,840,655-04 

BELGIUM 

While  the  somewhat  general  similarity  in  conditions  made  the 
needs  in  Belgium  parallel  those  in  France,  an  important  difference 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  such  a  large  proportion  of  the  country  was 
occupied  by  the  Germans,  with  the  result  that  refugees  were  scattered 
through  France,  Holland,  England  and  Switzerland.  This  condition 
naturally  imposed  great  difficulties  on  the  Belgian  Government,  and 
on  the  Red  Cross  in  its  endeavors  to  help  the  people  in  want. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  work  in  France,  the  main  policy  of  the  Red 
Cross  was  to  aid  the  people  by  supporting  and  helping  national 
agencies.  In  this  undertaking,  relief  was  given  through  the  Belgian 
Red  Cross  and  some  300  other  Belgian  relief  organizations,  some  of 
the  major  activities  being  described  in  the  paragraphs  that  follow. 

Soldiers'  Relief  Service 

More  than  sixty  relief  organizations  were  aided  by  the  Red  Cross 
in  carrying  on  activities  directly  connected  with  the  welfare  of  Belgian 
soldiers.  Among  these  activities  were  hospitals,  canteens  and  rest 
houses,  bath  and  lodging  houses,  libraries  and  reading  rooms,  schools 
and  farms  for  re-education  of  mutilcs,  manufacturing  and  distribution 
of  artificial  limbs,  cinemas  and  concerts,  athletic  contests,  gifts  of 
musical  instruments  and  music,  supplementary  allowances  for  nurses, 
care  of  Belgian  soldiers'  families,  gifts  to  decorated  and  specially 
meritorious  soldiers  and  research  and  employment  service  for  disabled 
and  discharged  soldiers. 

Eighty-two  canteens  served  approximately  25,000  soldiers  daily. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  67 

Twenty-eight  hospitals  were  aided  by  gifts  of  cash  and  suppHes  of 
numerous  kinds. 

Cinemas  at  the  front  entertained  an  average  of  8,000  men  daily. 

Libraries  were  equipped  with  nearly  300,000  volumes;  one  reading 
room  alone  served  450,000  men  in  one  year. 

An  educational  course  was  given  to  7,500  Belgian  soldiers  during 
one  year. 

Relief  of  Children 

The  Red  Cross  made  grants  to  nearly  seventy  organizations  carrying 
on  relief  work  for  children.  Children's  colonies  were  established  in 
France,  Switzerland  and  Holland.  Baby-saving  work  was  conducted 
in  Belgium  and  in  refugee  centers.  Everything  possible  was  done  to 
preserve  the  health  and  welfare  of  these  children. 

The  Red  Cross  aided  directly  in  evacuating  some  20,000  children, 
placing  8,000  in  France,  2,000  in  Switzerland  and  10,000  in  Holland 
— in  school  colonies,  etc. 

Fifteen  milk  distributing  depots  were  maintained  In  unoccupied 
Belgium. 

Four  hundred  baby  clothing  outfits  were  distributed  monthly  to 
Belgian  children  in  France. 

A  dispensary  was  established  and  operated  by  the  American  Red 
Cross  at  Le  Havre,  France,  in  April,  1918,  and  in  September  a  hospital 
of  20  beds  was  added.  Social  service  and  public  health  nursing  were 
also  carried  on.  To  February  28,  1919,  a  total  of  14,610  dispensary 
patienr£  were  treated,  2,523  house  visits  were  made  by  doctors  and 
nurses  a^d  195  hospital  patients  treated. 

Relief  of  Civilians 

When  one  considers  that  approximately  90,000  Belgian  civilians 
remained  in  unoccupied  Belgium  within  range  of  German  guns,  and 
that  600,000  found  refuge  in  other  countries,  some  idea  can  be  obtained 
of  the  hardships  these  people  went  through  during  more  than  four 
years  of  war. 

Grants  were  made  to  nearly  150  relief  agencies,  and  with  these 
agencies  the  Red  Cross  cooperated  in : 

Establishing  and  maintaining  hospitals,  refugee  colonies,  health 

centers,  etc.; 
Providing  housing  accommodations,  clothes,  household  furniture, 

livestock,  etc.; 


68  WORK    OF     AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

Transporting  refugees  to  places  of  safety; 

Maintaining  a  service  by  which  members  of  families  were  brought 
in  touch  with  one  another. 

In  short,  the  Belgian  refugees  were  followed  whereveu  they  went 
and  provided  with  suitable  food,  clothing  and  comforts. 

ITALY 

A  permanent  Red  Cross  Commission  for  Italy  was  appointed  in  the 
fall  of  191 7  and  arrived  in  Rome  during  the  latter  part  of  December. 
In  January,  19 18,  it  took  over  the  work  of  a  temporary  Commission, 
composed  of  members  of  the  Red  Cross  Commission  for  France  who 
had  been  sent  to  Italy  at  the  time  of  the  great  emergency  resulting 
from  the  Caporetto  disaster  of  November,  19 17. 

Red  Cross  work  in  Italy  thus  commenced  in  November,  191 7,  during 
the  great  offensive,  when  the  need  for  moral  and  material  assistance 
from  America  was  urgent.  The  help  given  at  this  time  was  confined 
mainly  to  hospital  and  ambulance  service  for  the  hard-pressed  soldiers 
at  the  front,  and  relief  of  refugees  from  the  Venetian  plains. 

During  the  following  months  the  work  of  the  Red  Cross  extended 
to  141  towns,  as  shown  on  the  map  on  page  70,  as  well  as  to  thousands 
of  smaller  villages  from  the  Alps  to  the  Island  of  Sicily. 

Service  for  American  Soldiers  and  Sailors 

Red  Cross  work  for  American  soldiers  and  sailors  in  Italy  included 
hospital  service,  canteen  service,  and  home  and  communication 
services. 

Large  quantities  of  inedical  and  surgical  supplies  and  considerable 
equipment,  including  drugs,  medicines,  surgical  instruments,  sterilizers, 
incinerators  and  X-ray  machines,  were  furnished  the  American  mili- 
tary and  naval  forces.  Four  hospitals  were  operated — one  for  the 
Army,  one  for  the  Navy  and  two  for  American  war  workers. 

Canteens  were  established  wherever  American  soldiers  were  sta- 
tioned, and  rolling  canteens  followed  them  to  the  front  when  they  took 
part  in  the  victorious  Italian  offensive  of  October,  1918. 

Other  Red  Cross  work  for  American  soldiers  in  Italy  included  the 
distribution  of  comforts  and  the  operation  of  a  home  and  communi- 
cation service  which  up  to  February  28,  1919,  had  handled  over  22,000 
cases.     Perhaps  the  most  important  of  these  cases  were  14,600  in- 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  69 

stances  in  which  correct  addresses  were  secured  for  allotments  to 
American  soldiers'  families  residing  in  Italy. 

Medical  and  Hospital  Service  for  the  Italian  A  rmy 

As  a  result  of  the  191 7  offensive,  the  Italian  Army  lost  one  hundred 
hospitals  and  two  main  field  magazines  of  medical  supplies.  The  dis- 
organizing effects  of  these  reverses  were  increased  by  the  fact  that 
thousands  of  wounded  soldiers  were  coming  in  from  the  front. 

Although  at  this  time  the  Red  Cross  had  barely  commenced  opera- 
tions in  Italy,  the  seriousness  of  the  situation  was  at  once  appreciated, 
and  large  quantities  of  gauze,  cotton,  drugs  and  other  medical  supplies 
and  equipment  were  given  the  Italian  authorities.  Within  sixty  days 
951,000  articles  were  distributed,  including  ten  complete  field  hospitals. 

During  the  following  months  the  Red  Cross  continued  to  furnish 
both  the  Italian  Army  Medical  Department  and  individual  military 
hospitals  with  general  medical  supplies  and  specialized  equipment  such 
as  disinfecting  machines  and  articles  for  research  laboratories.  A 
service  was  operated  for  manufacturing,  sterilizing  and  distributing 
surgical  dressings  to  supplement  the  regular  supply  of  the  Italian  Army. 

Ambulance  Service  for  the  Italian  Army 

On  December  9,  191 7,  two  days  after  the  United  States  had  ofificially 
declared  war  on  Austria,  there  appeared  on  the  streets  of  Milan  one 
hundred  Red  Cross  ambulance  drivers,  each  driving  his  own  car,  bound 
for  the  Italian  front.  These  and  other  ambulances  furnished  by  the 
Red  Cross  handled  from  January  i,  1918  to  February  28,  1919,  148,224 
cases,  making  14,194  trips  and  covering  652,995  mjles.  That  the  work 
of  this  service  was  appreciated  by  the  Italian  Government  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  all  the  field  personnel  received  War  Crosses. 

Canteen  Service  for  the  Italian  Army 

Thirty-three  canteens  were  operated  by  the  Red  Cross  in  Italy  for 
the  benefit  of  Italian  and  Allied  troops.  Seventeen  of  these  were 
scattered  along  the  Italian  front,  both  in  the  mountains  and  on  the 
plains,  and  the  remaining  sixteen  were  located  at  important  railroad 
stations  along  the  line  of  communication.  From  these  canteens  drinks, 
chocolate,  cigarettes  and  other  refreshments  were  distributed,  and  beds 
and  baths  were  often  provided.  The  extensive  nature  of  this  work 
is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  an  average  of  i  ,400,000  men  were  served 
each  month  in  the  thirty-three  canteens. 


70 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


M    E  D^^ 


SEA 


Map  II.   141  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service 
in  Italy,  November,  IQ17,  to  February,  igig 

With  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  the  service  of  the  front-line  can- 
teens was  extended  to  thousands  of  Itahan  prisoners  returning  from 
Austria  and  Germany.  Because  of  the  lack  of  system  in  liberating 
these  men,  many  of  them  were  in  a  half-starved  condition  when  they 
reached  the  Italian  frontier.  To  February  28,  1919,  the  Red  Cross  had 
served  1,132,300  rations  to  returning  Italian  prisoners. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  71 

Relief  of  Refugees 

In  its  work  among  the  refugees  the  Red  Cross  cooperated  with  the 
Itahan  Government  in  making  the  Hves  of  these  unfortunate  people  as 
near  as  possible  like  their  lives  in  their  former  homes. 

Thousands  of  civilians  were  driven  from  the  north  to  the  south  of 
Italy  by  the  great  offensive  of  1917.  Canteens  and  rest  houses  were 
operated  by  the  Red  Cross  to  help  them,  and  clothing  and  other 
supplies  were  distributed  among  the  more  needy.  During  the  follow- 
ing months  the  Red  Cross  assisted  in  caring  for  the  refugees  in  the 
towns  and  villages  throughout  Italy.  This  work  included  the  main- 
tenance of  refugee  colonies,  hospitals,  dispensaries  and  food  kitchens, 
and  the  operation  of  workrooms  for  the  manufacture  of  many  kinds 
of  articles,  such  as  clothing,  embroidery,  mattresses  and  furniture.  A 
few  statistics  concerning  this  work  are  given  in  the  following  table: 

Table  44 

RED  CROSS  WORK  AMONG  REFUGEES  IN  ITALY 

November,  IQIJ — February,  1919 

Refugee  colonies  operated 5 

Persons  cared  for  in  colonies 2,774 

Hospitals  operated 3 

Dispensaries  operated 3 

Workrooms  operated 88 

Persons  employed  in  workrooms 9.057 

Garments  produced  in  workrooms 1,411,105 

Food  kitchens  operated 50 

Rations  served  daily  in  food  kitchens  (average) 28,664 

Persons  furnished  uncooked  food 424,600 

The  above  statistics  do  not  show  the  large  quantities  of  supplies 
distributed  among  refugees.  A  few  of  these  supplies  are  mentioned 
below : 

Table  45 

A  FEW  OF  THE  SUPPLIES  DISTRIBUTED  BY  THE  RED  CROSS 
AMONG  REFUGEES  IN  ITALY 

November,  igiy — February,  1919 

Garments 891,661 

Shoes  (pairs) 148,434 

Cloth  (yards) 1,006,448 

Bedding  and  household  articles 671,605 

Knitting  yarn  (pounds) 47,661 


72  WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 

Care  oj  Children 

The  Red  Cross  cooperated  with  the  ItaHan  Government  in  feeding, 
clothing  and  caring  for  the  thousands  of  war  orphans  and  other  un- 
happy children  in  Italy.  This  work  included  the  operation  of  summer 
colonies,  orphanages,  day  nurseries,  industrial  schools,  playgrounds 
and  health  centers,  and  the  distribution  of  food  and  clothes.  During 
the  period  covered  by  this  report,  the  Red  Cross  was  able  to  help 
154,704  Italian  children,  50,554  of  whom  were  cared  for  in  institutions. 

Other  Activities 

The  other  activities  of  the  Red  Cross  in  Italy  are  too  numerous  to 
mention  individually  in  this  report.  They  included  such  important 
work  as  the  distribution  of  cash  to  326,035  needy  families  of  Italian 
soldiers  and  the  operation  during  the  Spanish  influenza  epidemic  of 
forty-eight  relief  stations  from  which  special  foods  were  distributed  and 
medical  aid  was  given. 

Mention  should  also  be  made  of  certain  work  in  connection  with 
the  victorious  Italian  offensive  of  the  fall  of  1918,  during  which  Red 
Cross  ambulance  and  camion  services  followed  the  Italian  troops  to 
assist  in  legitimate  ways  both  the  Army  and  the  civilian  population  in 
the  regained  territory. 

BRITISH  ISLES 

American  Red  Cross  activities  in  the  British  Isles  consisted  chiefly 
of  caring  for  American  soldiers  and  sailors  passing  to  and  from  the 
front,  providing  for  those  shipwrecked  nearby,  and  caring  for  the 
American  wounded. 

The  map  on  page  74  indicates  the  extent  of  the  Red  Cross  work  in 
the  British  Isles. 

Hospital  Service 

A  foremost  place  in  any  outline  of  Red  Cross  work  must  always  be 
given  to  the  hospitals.  The  importance  of  this  activity  in  the  British 
Isles  was  emphasized  during  the  time  American  troops  were  brigaded 
with  British.  The  American  wounded  from  these  units  were  necessarily 
taken  to  the  British  Isles. 

There  were  thirteen  American  Red  Cross  hospitals  in  the  British  Isles 
for  American  military  and  naval  forces,  which  cared  for  6,000  patients. 
Several  of  these  hospitals  were  organized  or  constructed  by  the  Red 
Cross,  and  then  turned  over  to  the  American  Army  Medical  Corps; 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  73 

Others  were  operated  under  an  arrangement  by  which  the  American 
Red  Cross  furnished  the  manageinent  and  the  equipment  and  the 
American  Army  supplied  the  technical  personnel.  One  of  these  hos- 
pitals was  for  American  nurses,  and  two  were  operated  for  the  Navy. 

In  addition  to  the  American  Red  Cross  hospitals  in  the  British  Isles 
for  American  soldiers,  there  were  several  American  Army  and  Navy 
hospitals.  American  Army  patients  were  also  cared  for  in  200  British 
institutions.  Wherever  there  were  American  Army  or  Navy  patients  in 
the  British  Isles,  the  Red  Cross  assisted  in  every  way  possible  through 
its  hospital  visiting  service,  its  casualty  information  service  and  its 
distribution  of  hospital  and  medical  supplies,  equipment  and  comforts. 

In  addition,  the  Red  Cross  operated  small  hospitals  or  infirmaries 
for  American  soldiers  in  fifty  camps  throughout  the  British  Isles. 

Camp  mid  Canteen  Service 

The  importance  of  the  camp  and  canteen  service  for  American 
soldiers  and  sailors  carried  on  by  the  Red  Cross  in  the  British  Isles  is 
suggested  by  the  fact  that  nearly  one  million  American  soldiers  passed 
through  Great  Britain  during  the  period  covered  by  this  report  and 
that  a  large  portion  of  them  was  scattered  through  100  camps  for 
rest  and  training.  The  camp  service  included  the  distribution  of  many 
kinds  of  supplies  and  comforts,  erection  of  shower  baths  and  per- 
formance of  emergency  service  of  every  description. 

The  Red  Cross,  in  the  beginningof  its  work,  depended  largely  on  the 
British  canteens,  to  which  liberal  donations  were  made.  Later,  the 
Red  Cross  equipped  and  operated  its  own  canteens  in  metropolitan 
districts,  along  lines  of  communication  and  at  ports.  Perhaps  the 
four  most  important  were  located  at  Liverpool,  London,  Glasgow  and 
Southampton. 

Following  is  a  list  of  some  of  the  principal  items  distributed  free 
to  American  soldiers  and  sailors  through  the  Red  Cross  camp  and 
canteen  service: 

Table  46 

SOME  OF  THE  PRINXIPAL  ARTICLES  DISTRIBUTED  FREE  TO  AMERICAN 
SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  IN  THE  BRITISH  ISLES 

Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  iQig 

Bags  (comfort)     ....  54.720  Brushes  (hair)      ....  6,907 

Bedspreads 9.325  Brushes  (shaving)   .    .    .  22,931 

Biscuits 34.631  (lbs.)  Brushes  (tooth)    ....  59.514 

Blankets 39.944  Buns 70.871 


74 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED    CROSS 


ATLANTIC 
OCEAN 


NOR.THSEA 

NBUkGH 


ATLANTIC 
OCEAN 


ENGLISH  CHANNEL 


Map  12.  J2Q  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service 
in  the  British  Isles,  October,  1917,  to  February,  igig 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


75 


Cake 

Candy  

Cheese 

Chocolate  bars     .    .    .    .   i, 

Chocolate 

Cigarettes 8, 

Coffee 

Combs 

Eggs 

Flags 

Fruits 

Fruits  (dried) 

Games 

Gloves  

Gum  (chewing)    .    .    .    .5, 
Handkerchiefs      .... 

Honey 

Jam 

Knitted  articles: 

Helmets 

Mufflers 

Sweaters 

Wristlets 

Matches 

Meat 

Milk 

Milk 

Musical  instruments: 

Phonographs    .... 


121,995 
16,266 

7.707 
001,100 
169,033 

432,557 
20,370 
10,230 
85.448 
18,458 
37.001 

31.64s 
20,719 

36,514 

183,187 

125,679 

3.868 

16,824 


(lbs.) 
(lbs.) 
(lbs.) 

(lbs.) 

(lbs.) 


(cans) 
(lbs.) 

(prs.) 
(pieces) 

(lbs.) 
(lbs.) 


25.394 
23,644 
90,191 
24.344 

127.593  (boxes) 
41,885  (lbs.) 
44,598  (cans; 
49,230  (qts.) 

302 


Phonograph  records    . 

Pianos  

Other  musical  instru- 
ments     

Napkins  (paper)      .    .    . 

Oranges     

Pajamas 

Potatoes 

Razors  (safetj')    .    .    .    . 

Razor  blades 

Sheets    

Shirts 

Slippers 

Soap 

Soap  (shaving)     .    .    .    . 

Socks     

Soup      

Sugar     

Surgical  dressings  .  .  . 
Talcum  powder    .    .    .    . 

Tea 

Testaments 

Tobacco  (smoking)      .    . 

Tooth  paste 

Towels 

Writing  paper: 

Envelopes 

Pads 

Sheets    


6,896 
8 

463 

1,136,075 

766,556 

311,820 

44,866 

36,967 

133.959 

51,084 

37.838 

8,974 

139.377 

71,687 
104,485 

14.195 

99.318 

816,164 

27,215 
1,905 

294 

133,820 

79,819 

79.819 

1,007,222 

85.506 

107,756 


(suits) 
(lbs.) 


(prs.) 

(cakes) 

(sticks) 

(prs.) 

(cans) 

(lbs.) 

(cans) 
(lbs.) 

(pkgs.) 
(tubes) 


Care  of  the  Shipwrecked 

The  Red  Cross  helped  In  every  way  possible  those  American  soldiers 
who  were  survivors  of  the  transports  "Tuscania"  and  "Moldavia," 
which  were  sunk  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  British  Isles.  Money, 
clothing,  comforts  and  other  supplies  were  given  to  these  survivors; 
and  those  placed  in  hospitals  were  given  every  assistance  by  Red 
Cross  representatives. 

Anticipating  future  occurrences  similar  to  the  sinking  of  the  "Tus- 
cania" in  February,  191 8,  the  Red  Cross  made  provision  for  caring 
more  compleetly  for  the  survivors.  Stores  of  clothing,  first-aid  outfits 
and  other  necessary  supplies  were  located  at  various  Irish  stations  for 
completely  outfitting  6,000  Americans  on  short  notice.  Arrangements 
were  made  for  billeting  and  feeding  any  number  that  might  be  landed 
at  out-of-the-way  places,  while  a  fleet  of  motor  cars  was  made  avail- 
able for  emergencies. 


76 


WORK     OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


Other  Activities 

Space  is  not  available  In  this  report  to  tell  of  all  the  activities  of  the 
Red  Cross  in  the  British  Isles;  home  service,  communication  service, 
nursing  service  and  kindred  activitiesare  covered  at  length  in  the 
chapter  on  France. 

Mention  should  be  made,  however,  of  the  work  of  the  London  Chap- 
ter of  the  American  Red  Cross.  This  Chapter  carried  on  all  of  the 
Red  Cross  activities  in  Great  Britain  prior  to  the  appointment  of  a 
commission,  and  since  then  has  worked  in  close  cooperation  with  it, 
operating  a  hospital  supply  service;  work  shops  for  making  surgical 
dressings,  hospital  garments,  etc.,  employing  over  2,000  women;  an 
officers'  hospital  and  a  well-equipped  club  for  nurses.  It  has  active 
committees  dealing  with  comforts  for  soldiers,  distribution  of  books, 
entertainment  of  officers  and  nurses  in  London  and  kindred  activities. 

Mention  should  also  be  made  of  more  than  $5,000,000  contributed 
by  the  Red  Cross  to  other  relief  organizations  in  the  British  Isles; 
among  other  items,  $4,500,000  was  given  to  the  British  Red  Cross, 
and  $250,000  to  the  Scottish  Women's  Hospital. 

SWITZERLAND 

The  two  most  urgent  reasons  for  Red  Cross  work  in  Switzerland  were, 
first,  the  necessity  of  working  from  that  country  in  aiding  American 


Map  13.    2$  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service 
in  Switzerland,  May,  1918,  to  February,  191Q 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


11 


soldiers  in  German  prison  camps,  and,  second,  the  need  for  extending 
to  the  Swiss  Government  and  people  aid  in  caring  for  the  thousands 
of  refugees  from  many  lands  who  were  located  in  Switzerland. 

Map  13  on  the  opposite  page  shows  the  places  from  which  the  Red 
Cross  operated  in  Switzerland. 


Prisoners'  Relief  Service 

This  service  rendered  aid  to  all  American  prisoners  of  war,  and  to 
many  Allied  prisoners,  by  supplying  food  and  clothing,  forwarding 
mail  and  money  and  communicating  with  the  families  and  friends  of 
the  prisoners. 


15th3hl  15th   30th  15th  ^  Slst^   15th  JO  th  15th 
Au^,  Sept~  Oct.  JVbV.      Dec. 


Diagram  7.    American  prisoners  in  German  and  Austrian  prison  camps 
aided  by  the  Red  Cross,  August  i5,  191S,  to  December  is,  1918 


78 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED    CROSS 


On  August  15,  1918,  the  Red  Cross  was  aiding  577  American  pris- 
oners in  39  prison  camps.  On  November  30,  191 8,  this  number  had 
increased  to  3,604  (including  12  sailors  and  146  civilians)  in  72  prison 
camps.    Diagram  7,  on  page  77,  shows  the  number  aided  by  months. 

Supplies  were  shipped  weekly  or  fortnightly  by  the  Red  Cross  in 
tsventy-pound  packages,  to  all  American  prisoners  of  record,  wherever 
located.  At  the  start  of  this  service  the  Red  Cross  furnished  all  such 
supplies  free.  Later,  the  U.  S.  Army  and  Navy  furnished  certain 
essential  supplies  to  the  Red  Cross,  which  added  supplementary  items 
such  as  special  food  for  invalid  prisoners,  chocolate,  candy,  pipes, 
tobacco,  shaving  outfits,  etc.  Complete  clothing  outfits  were  supplied 
on  request. 

To  determine  whether  supplies  reached  their  destination,  the  prison- 
ers were  asked  to  sign  and  return  a  card  enclosed  in  each  package. 
Acknowledgments  were  received  for  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  shipments. 

In  the  following  table  are  listed  the  quantities  and  kinds  of  articles 
furnished  American  prisoners,  including  those  supplied  by  the  U.  S. 
Army  and  Navy: 


Table  47 


SUPPLIES  FURNISHED  AMERICAN  PRISONERS 

(Including  items  supplied  by  U.  S.  Army  and  Navy) 
Twenty  Months  Ending  February  28,  1919 


Beans I.7S2  (cans) 

Beans  and  pork 56,400  (cans) 

Biscuits 76,750  (lbs.) 

Candy 27,900  (lbs.) 

Cheese 450  (lbs.) 

Chocolate 112  (lbs.) 

Cinnamon 90  (lbs.) 

Cocoa 10,517  (lbs.) 

Coffee 57.612  (lbs.) 

Crackers 6,750  (lbs.) 

Fatbacks 19,000  (lbs.) 

Fish 6,300  (lbs.) 

Flour 19.992  (lbs.) 

Fruit  (dried) 85.999  (lbs.) 

Gum  (chewing) 500  (lbs.) 

Jam 87,334  (lbs.) 


FOOD 

Meats  (tinned) 159.354  (lbs.) 

Milk  (evaporated)  ....  15.528  (lbs.) 

Oatmeal 12,600  (lbs.) 

Oleo 57.510  (lbs.) 

Oil  (olive) 90  (lbs.) 

Pepper 240  (lbs.) 

Rice 56,000  (lbs.) 

Salt 44.915  (lbs.) 

Soup 10,400  (cans) 

Soup  (powdered)     ....  7,800  (pkgs.) 

Spaghetti 10,600  (cans) 

Sugar 106,520  (lbs.) 

Tea 512  (lbs.) 

Vegetables 13,200  (cans) 

Vinegar 125  (gals.) 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


79 


CLOTHING  AND  OTHER  ARTICLES 


Brushes  (clothes) 
Brushes  (hair) 
Brushes  (shaving) 
Brushes  (tooth) 
Buttons  (coat) 
Caps  .    .    . 

Cigarettes  .  . 
Cigars  .... 
Combs  .... 
Handkerchiefs 
Housewives  .  . 
Knives  (pocket) 
Overcoats  .  . 
Pencils  .... 
Pipes     .... 


1, 100 
1,100 
1,100 

3,100 

8oo  (cards) 

400 
4,188,000 
5.000 
1,100 
1,200 
1,100 
1,100 

400 

16,000 

2,000 


Razors  (safety)  .  . 
Shirts  (flannel)     .    . 

Shoes     

Shoe  laces  .... 
Shoe  polish  outfits  . 
Slippers  (felt)  .    .    . 

Soap 

Soap  (shaving)     .    . 

Socks     

Suits 

Tobacco  (smoking) 
Toilet  cases      .    .    . 

Towels 

Tooth  paste  .  .  . 
Underwear    .... 


.  1 


1,100 
800 

400 
S.500 

600 

2,000 

23.300 

2,200 

1,200 

400 

05.837 

600 

800 

3.300 

1,600 


(prs.) 


(prs.) 
(bars) 
(sticks) 
(prs.) 

(lbs.) 


(tubes) 
(pes.) 


Mention  should  also  be  made  of  relief  supplies  aggregating  nearly 
$3,800,000  in  value  purchased  by  the  Red  Cross,  from  funds  furnished 
by  the  Serbian  Government,  and  forwarded  to  Switzerland  for  distri- 
bution to  Serbian  prisoners  of  war. 

Among  the  other  services  performed  for  prisoners,  the  Red  Cross 
acted  as  agent  in  transmitting  over  $32,000  to  imprisoned  soldiers  of 
seventeen  different  nationalities,  nearly  one-half  of  which  went  to 
Americans.  Also,  over  50,000  letters  were  written  to  relatives  and 
friends  concerning  the  health  and  whereabouts  of  American  prisoners. 

After  the  armistice  was  signed,  the  Red  Cross  distributed  food  and 
clothing  to  2,600  American  and  8,400  Italian  prisoners  repatriated 
through  Switzerland. 

Relief  of  Civilians 

Relief  was  extended  by  the  Red  Cross  to  destitute  children  and  aged 
persons  repatriated  by  the  Germans  through  Switzerland,  interned 
Allied  soldiers,  interned  civilians  of  the  United  States  and  Allies,  and 
to  Swiss  families  whose  sons  or  fathers  were  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States  or  Allied  Governments. 

This  relief  in  large  part  consisted  of  establishing  and  maintaining 
hospitals,  canteens,  workrooms,  etc.;  donations  to  other  relief  organi- 
zations; and  furnishing  food  and  clothing  to  the  needy.  Mention 
should  be  made  of  the  workrooms  established  for  interned  soldiers, 
where  many  necessary  articles  were  made. 

BALKAN  STATES 
Although  the  American  Red  Cross  had  representatives  in  the  Bal- 
kans as  early  as  the  winter  of  1914-1915,  relief  activities  did  not 


80  WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

assume  large  proportions  until  the  summer  of  191 7,  when  commissions 
were  sent  to  Serbia  and  Roumania. 

In  the  fall  of  1918  a  commission  was  sent  to  Greece,  and  early  in 
1919,  with  the  opening  up  of  large  territories  occupied  by  the  Central 
Powers  during  the  war,  units  were  sent  to  North  Serbia,  Roumania, 
Montenegro  and  Albania  to  combat  conditions  beyond  description. 
However,  the  work  of  these  units  was  hardly  well  under  way  by 
February  28,  1919,  hence  a  record  of  things  accomplished  must  be 
omitted  from  this  report.  The  appropriations  for  the  Balkan  States 
recorded  on  page  66  include  $2,550,489.99  for  expenditure  by  these 
units. 

However,  a  fair  idea  of  the  work  done  by  the  Red  Cross  in  each  of 
the  countries  comprising  the  Balkan  States  will  be  conveyed  by  the 
following  outlines  of  the  work  done  in  Roumania  and  Serbia  by  the 
units  that  went  to  those  countries  during  the  summer  of  19 17. 

Roumania 

In  August,  191 7,  the  Red  Cross  sent  a  Commission  to  Roumania 
which  arrived  in  Jassy,  the  temporary  capital,  in  September,  and  found 
great  suffering  on  all  sides.  All  that  remained  of  the  once  prosperous 
kingdom  was  the  mountainous  province  of  Moldavia,  about  the  size 
of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  where  the  population  had  doubled  from 
the  influx  of  soldiers  and  refugees.  Pneumonia,  cholera  and  typhus 
were  rampant,  the  medical  and  hospital  facilities  were  entirely  inade- 
quate, and  there  was  a  distressing  lack  of  food,  clothing  and  other 
supplies. 

Soon  after  its  arrival,  the  Commission  took  over  a  500  bed  military 
hospital  at  Roman,  and  later  assumed  charge  of  a  civil  hospital  in 
Jassy.  Dispensaries  for  needy  civilians  were  operated  in  both  places. 
In  Roman  alone,  more  than  20,000  operations  were  performed  or 
treatments  given. 

The  chief  difficulty  in  the  way  of  extending  general  relief  was  to 
secure  necessary  supplies.  Russia  was  the  only  gateway  to  the  out- 
side world,  and  Russia  was  suffering  from  economic  disorganization. 
However,  despite  great  difficulties,  carloads  of  foodstuffs,  clothing, 
drugs  and  surgical  supplies  were  brought  from  Archangel,  Petrograd 
and  Moscow,  and  made  available  to  the  Roumanian  population.  In 
the  three  districts  of  Putna,  Tekuchin,  and  Bocan,  over  40,000  persons 
were  fed  every  day  by  the  Red  Cross.  A  canteen  was  opened  in 
Jassy,  where  for  two  months  meals  were  given  2,000  people.     The 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT 


8i 


AUSTRIA. 
HUNGARY 


Alap  14.    13  stations  from  winch  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service 
in  Roumania,  December,  1917,  to  March,  1918 

various  places  in  which  Red  Cross  service  was  rendered  are  shown 
on  the  map  above.  .^ — . 

In  March,  1918,  after  Roumania  had  made  a  separate  peace  with  I 
Germany,  it  became  necessary  for  the  Red  Cross  to  withdraw.  The 
undistributed  Red  Cross  reHef  supplies  were  turned  over  to  the  Rou- 
manian Governm.ent  and  various  organizations.  Among  these  articles 
were  foodstuffs  sufficient  to  feed  2,000  people  for  three  months,  and 
large  quantities  of  bandages,  medicines  and  garments. 

Serbia 

The  only  part  of  Serbia  that  was  unoccupied  when  the  Red  Cross 
Commission  arrived  there  in  August,  1917,  was  a  narrow  strip  of 
land  lying  along  the  Greek  border  south  of  Monastir,  once  fertile,  but 
at  that  time  stripped  of  everything  by  the  invaders. 


82  WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 

In  this  narrow  area  were  found  50,000  Serbians  wholly  dependent  on 
charity.  All  through  Greece  homeless  and  destitute  refugees  were 
scattered. 

A  supply  of  seed  and  agricultural  implements  was  sent  from  America 
for  use  in  cultivating  21,000  acres  near  Monastir.  A  party  of  agri- 
cultural experts  was  sent  to  take  charge  of  this  work. 

To  aid  refugees  in  northern  Greece,  the  Red  Cross  furnished  large 
quantities  of  food,  clothing  and  medical  supplies,  established  hospitals 
and  built  houses. 

For  the  Serbian  Army,  the  Red  Cross,  among  other  things,  equipped 
and  sent  from  America  complete  dental  units,  furnished  supplies  and 
equipment  to  Serbian  Army  hospitals,  established  canteens  for  con- 
valescent soldiers  and  sent  clothing  to  Serbian  prisoners  in  Bulgaria. 

Mention  should  also  be  made  of  a  contribution  of  $50,000  to  the 
Serbian  Red  Cross,  and  of  the  aid  extended  to  the  Serbian  Government 
in  caring  for  prisoners  of  war  (see  page  79). 

RUSSIA 

In  August,  191 7,  the  Red  Cross  sent  a  commission  of  specialists 
to  Russia  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  this  country  in  the  same  way 
it  was  helping  other  Allied  nations.  However,  because  of  the  disor- 
ganized state  of  the  country,  it  was  impossible  to  carry  out  the  full 
original  plan. 

The  commission,  on  its  arrival  in  Russia,  was  accorded  the  hearty 
support  of  the  Provisional  Government  then  in  power  and  the  co- 
operation of  the  Russian  Red  Cross,  the  Sanitary  Department  of  the 
Russian  Army,  and  the  Union  of  Zemstvos.  The  increasingly  chaotic 
conditions  in  Russia,  however,  made  the  work  more  and  more  difficult, 
until  in  March,  1918,  with  the  German  advance  on  Petrograd,  the 
commission  was  forced  to  abandon  its  program  and  move  to  Moscow, 
where  it  stayed  doing  what  it  could  until  October,  1918,  when  it  was 
ordered  out.  Despite  these  difficulties,  many  important  things  were 
accomplished,  some  of  which  are  mentioned  in  the  paragraphs  that 
follow. 

A  complete  ambulance  unit  of  125  cars  was  sent  from  America  for 
service  with  the  Russian  Army. 

During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1918  the  Red  Cross  distributed 
450,000  cans  of  condensed  milk,  helping  25,000  babies,  a  large  number 
of  whom  would  otherwise  undoubtedly  have  perished. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  83 

During  the  summer  of  1918,  a  large  number  of  American  and  Allied 
citizens  were  assisted  through  distributions  of  food,  clothing  and 
medical  supplies. 

The  wretched  condition  of  25,000  people  employed  on  the  Mur- 
mansk railroad  was  improved  by  large  shipments  of  foodstuffs. 

In  July,  191 8,  the  Red  Cross  sent  an  expedition  to  Archangel  to 
assist  the  American  troops  operating  in  this  northern  section  of  the 
world.  Red  Cross  work  in  the  Archangel  district  has  included  the 
operation  of  a  hospital,  the  distribution  of  comforts  to  American  and 
Allied  soldiers  and  the  relief  of  destitute  civilians. 

With  the  assistance  of  the  chief  surgeon  of  the  American  forces  the 
Red  Cross  operated  a  100  bed  hospital  in  Archangel.  On  December 
20,  1918,  there  were  80  patients  in  this  hospital,  most  of  whom  were 
American  soldiers. 

SIBERIA 

As  the  opportunities  for  effective  work  in  European  Russia  gradu- 
ally narrowed,  an  enormous  field  for  necessary  work  opened  up  in 
Siberia.  An  appeal  for  help  came  from  the  leaders  of  the  Czecho- 
slovak troops  fighting  in  that  district.  Wounded  soldiers  were  pour- 
ing into  Vladivostok,  with  inadequate  facilities  available.  In  response 
to  this  appeal,  the  Red  Cross  sent  representatives  to  Siberia  in  June, 
191 8,  and  rushed  men  and  supplies  from  the  United  States,  cooperating 
from  the  start  with  the  Far  East  chapters  of  the  Red  Cross.  From  this 
start  the  Red  Cross  work  in  Siberia  has  rapidly  expanded  to  cover 
many  phases  of  military  and  civilian  relief,  with  a  personnel  of  nearly 
350  Red  Cross  workers  on  February  28,  1919.  The  work  was  still  beirg 
extended  on  that  date,  so  that  the  text  which  follows  gives  only  a 
partial  idea  of  Red  Cross  work  in  Siberia. 

The  huge  area  to  be  covered,  extending  for  4,126  miles  along  the 
Trans-Siberian  Railway  as  indicated  on  Map  15  on  page  84,  the 
extreme  cold,  and  the  multiplicity  of  tongues  and  currencies  are  factors 
making  Red  Cross  work  in  Siberia  very  difficult. 

Medical  Service 

The  medical  service  for  the  benefit  of  American  and  Allied  troops 
and  numerous  refugees,  was  probably  the  most  important  work  carried 
on  by  the  Red  Cross.  It  involved  equipping  and  operating  hospitals 
and  dispensaries,  the  distribution  of  drugs  and  other  medical  supplies, 
the  establishment  and  operation  of  baths  and  disinfecting  plants,  and 
the  equipping  and  maintenance  of  an  anti-typhus  sanitary  train. 


84 


WORK     OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


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Map  75.   22  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service 
in  Siberia,  June,  igi8,  to  February,  igig 


During  the  period  covered  by  this  report,  the  Red  Cross  operated 
five  hospitals,  as  shown  in  table  below: 


Table  48 


HOSPITALS  OPERATED  BY  THE  RED  CROSS  IN  SIBERIA 

July  I,  IQ18 — February  28,  igig 


Name  of  Hospital 


Buchedu  Tuberculosis  Hospital    .    .    . 

Omsk  Hospital 

Russian  Island  Hospital  (Vladivostok) 

Tumen  Hospital 

Vladivostok  Refugee  Hospital  .... 


Total 


Bed  Capacity 


100 
500 
250 
350 
250 

1. 450 


Patients 
Treated 


300 

773 
600 
722 

700 

3.095 


Patient 
Days 


6,000 
16,050 
50,000 

23.113 
20,000 

IIS. 163 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  85 

In  addition  to  this  hospital  work,  the  Red  Cross  furnished  equipment 
and  suppHes  to  a  large  number  of  Siberian  hospitals,  including  such 
items  as  beds,  mattresses,  blankets,  operating  tables,  instruments, 
drugs,  surgical  dressings  and  food. 

An  important  part  in  the  fight  against  typhus  was  taken  by  a  com- 
plete Red  Cross  sanitary  train  made  up  of  bath,  boiler,  tank,  steriliz- 
ing, dressing,  hair-clipping  and  other  cars.  This  train,  manned  by 
Red  Cross  workers,  went  into  infected  districts  applying  modern 
sanitary  methods. 

Other  anti-typhus  work  included  the  establishment  of  an  isolation 
hospital  in  Vladivostok  and  the  operation  of  a  bathing  and  delousing 
station  at  Ekaterinburg  which,  up  to  February  28,  1919,  had  given 
30,000  treatments. 

Camp  Service 

The  military  relief  service  of  the  Red  Cross  in  Siberia,  in  addition 
to  the  medical  service  just  referred  to,  includes  various  services  for 
American  and  Allied  soldiers,  such  as  the  distribution  of  comforts  and 
the  operation  of  home  service  and  a  communication  service.  During 
the  Christmas  season  of  191 8  all  the  American  troops  in  and  around 
Vladivostok  were  given  comforts  and  other  supplies,  including  6,000 
comfort  bags  made  by  the  Japan  Chapter  of  the  American  Red  Cross. 
At  the  same  time  the  members  of  the  Russian  Railway  Service  Corps, 
composed  of  American  railway  men,  were  given  knitted  articles  and 
other  necessary  supplies.  Altogether  10,000  Americans  in  Siberia 
have  received  presents  of  supplies  through  the  Red  Cross. 

In  Western  Siberia,  the  Red  Cross  has  assisted  the  Czecho-Slovak 
and  other  troops  operating  in  this  section.  Some  of  the  more  impor- 
tant supplies  distributed  among  these  forces  are  listed  below: 

Table  4g 

SUPPLIES  DISTRIBUTED  BY  THE  RED  CROSS  IN  WESTERN  SIBERIA 

July  I,  igiS — February  28,  igig 

Boots 150,000  (prs.) 

Pajamas 100,000  (suits) 

Sheepskin  coats 10,000 

Shirts 100,000 

Socks -  200,000  (prs.) 

Sweaters 120,000 

Underwear 200,000  (suits) 


86  WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 

The  home  and  communication  services,  in  cooperation  with  these 
activities  in  America,  straightened  out  the  home  troubles  of  American 
soldiers  and  kept  the  families  and  friends  of  these  soldiers  informed 
concerning  their  health  and  whereabouts. 

Refugee  Relief 

The  refugee  relief  work  of  the  Red  Cross  in  Siberia  has  involved  many 
and  varied  activities,  such  as  the  provision  of  lodging,  food,  clothing, 
medical  service,  employment  and  educational  facilities.  Table  50 
gives  some  statistics  of  this  work. 

Table  50 

REFUGEE  RELIEF  WORK  OF  THE  RED  CROSS  IN  SIBERIA 

July  I,  igi8 — February  28,  igig 

Meals  given  to  refugees 7,000 

Refugees  housed 1,000 

Refugees  repatriated 1,200 

One  of  the  chief  problems  confronting  the  refugee  service  of  the 
Red  Cross  has  been  to  provide  shelter  for  the  many  refugees  who 
poured  into  the  Siberian  cities  from  all  directions.  This  problem  was 
especially  acute  in  Vladivostok,  where  there  were  hundreds  of  homeless 
Russians,  Armenians  and  Serbians.  To  relieve  this  housing  situation, 
the  Red  Cross  equipped  and  operated  a  number  of  refugee  barracks, 
where  lodging  was  furnished  and  meals  were  served.  These  barracks 
not  only  protected  the  inmates  from  the  wind  and  weather,  but  also 
served  as  a  practical  means  of  teaching  cleanliness  and  sanitation. 

Two  sewing  rooms,  a  weaving  establishment  and  a  tailor  shop  were 
operated  by  the  Red  Cross  at  Vladivostok  to  furnish  employment  for 
refugees.  In  the  sewing  rooms  6,500  garments  had  been  turned  out 
to  December  31,  191 8. 

Particular  attention  was  devoted  by  the  Red  Cross  to  the  care  of  the 
many  refugee  children  in  Siberia.  Schools  were  operated  in  Vladivos- 
tok, and  seven  groups  of  children  from  Petrograd  living  at  various 
places  in  Western  Siberia  received  Red  Cross  assistance. 

PALESTINE  AND  NEAR  EAST 

Until  the  British  began  their  advance  into  Palestine  it  was  not 
possible  for  the  American  Red  Cross  to  offer  direct  aid  to  the  countless 
thousands  of  sufferers  in  these  areas. 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  87 

Prior  to  that  time,  a  great  deal  of  relief  had  been  carried  on  in 
Armenia,  Persia,  Syria,  the  Russian  Caucasus  and  Mesopotamia  by 
the  American  Committee  for  Armenian  and  Syrian  Relief.  Even 
after  the  severance  of  diplomatic  relations  between  the  United  States 
and  Turkey  this  work  went  on  with  scarcely  a  hitch.  To  February 
28,  1919,  the  American  Red  Cross  had  contributed  to  this  committee 
$4,500,000  in  money  and  $1,444,032.54  in  supplies. 

In  March,  1918,  the  American  Red  Cross  sent  a  Commission  to 
operate  in  Palestine  and  the  Near  East.  The  Commission  reached 
Port  Said  on  June  11  and  commenced  active  operations  in  Jerusalem 
on  July  4,  1918. 

The  operations  of  the  Commission  to  February  28,  1919,  extended 
to  54  towns  and  villages,  indicated  on  Map  16  (page  88),  and  engaged 
144  Red  Cross  workers. 

The  statistics  which  follow  indicate  the  extent  of  the  work  in  the 
Jerusalem  district  from  July  i,  1918,  to  February  28,  1919.  Work  in 
the  Beirut  and  Aleppo  districts  was  started  in  November,  1918,  and 
January,  1919,  respectively,  along  similar  lines. 

In  the  Jerusalem  or  southern  district  the  work  of  the  Red  Cross 
extended  as  far  north  as  Acre  and  as  far  south  as  Port  Said.  The  medi- 
cal service  in  this  district  included  the  operation  of  twelve  hospitals 
and  sixteen  dispensaries.  Table  51  gives  some  statistics  concerning 
this  phase  of  the  work. 

Table  51 

MEDICAL  SERVICE  OF  THE  RED  CROSS  IN  THE  JERUSALEM  DISTRICT 

July  I,  igi8 — February  28,  igig 

Persons  treated  in  dispensaries  and  clinics:  Men  21,000 

Women    39,000 
Children  67,000  127,000 

Physicians'  services  supplied 10,500 

Mothers  with  young  babies  receiving  milk  diet 9.500 

Invalids  receiving  three  meals  a  day 12,000 

Special  patients  regularly  receiving  milk  diet 500 

Patients  receiving  milk  diet  for  short  period 1.500 

The  motor  service  of  the  Red  Cross  rendered  invaluable  assistance 
throughout  the  Jerusalem  district,  transporting  nearly  28,000  refugees 
and  invalids  a  total  mileage  of  119,981  during  the  eight  months  ending 
February  28,  1919. 


88 


WORK    OF    AMERICAN     RED     CROSS 


MEDITERRANEAN 

SEA 


Aleppo 


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Map  i6.   54  stations  from  which  the  Red  Cross  rendered  service  in  Palestine 
and  the  Near  East,  July,  IQ18,  to  February,  igig 


STATEMENT    OF    ACCOMPLISHMENT  89 

The  work  among  children  in  the  Jerusalem  district  included  the 
operation  of  orphanages,  day  nurseries  and  schools  in  which  reading, 
writing,  arithmetic  and  various  trades  were  taught.  A  few  statistics 
of  this  part  of  the  work  are  given  in  the  following  table: 

Table  52 

RED  CROSS  WORK  AMONG  CHILDREN  IN  THE  JERUSALEM  DISTRICT 

July  I,  igi8 — February  28,  igig 

Children  regularly  cared  for  in  orphanages 600 

Children  regularly  cared  for  in  day  nurseries .  85 

Children  Regularly  taught  in  schools 725 

Children  regularly  receiving  special  mid-morning  meal 650 

In  addition  to  the  services  shown  above,  the  Red  Cross  rendered 
assistance  to  refugees  in  the  Jerusalem  district  by  furnishing  employ- 
ment to  5,000  men  and  women.  The  productive  activities  carried  on 
included  weaving,  sewing,  cooking,  wall  building,  brick  making  and 
farming.  The  major  accomplishments  of  this  industrial  and  agricul- 
tural service  are  shown  in  Table  53. 

Table  53 

RED  CROSS  INDUSTRIAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  SERVICE  IN  THE 

JERUSALEM  DISTRICT 

July  J,  igiS — February  28,  igig 

Cloth  made 49-550  (yds.) 

Thread  spun 176  (lbs.) 

Bedding  sets  made 2,502 

Garments  made 240,106 

Hammocks,  tennis-nets,  etc.,  made 116 

Handkerchiefs,  drawn  work,  rugs,  etc.,  made 52,171 

Buns,  fruitcakes,  gingerbread,  etc.,  made 3.340.055 

Garden  acres  planted  and  cultivated 60 

OTHER  ACTIVITIES  OVERSEAS 

These  are  so  numerous  that  mention  below  is  made  only  of  the  more 
important. 

Since  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  the  Red  Cross  has  sent  a  unit 
into  Poland  cooperating  with  the  food  supply  organization  of  the  Allied 
countries  by  covering  the  important  field  of  emergency  relief  lying 
outside  the  furnishing  of  food.    This  unit  carried  on  such  activities  as 


90  WORK    OF    AMERICAN    RED    CROSS 

furnishing  clothing  and  medical  service,  assisting  in  the  establishment 
of  a  national  health  bureau,  establishing  dispensaries  for  immediate 
relief  of  sickness  and  suffering,  etc. 

r  A  Red  Cross  unit  was  sent  also  into  Germany,  cooperating  with  the 
military  authorities  in  caring  for  Russian  and  Allied  prisoners  in  that 

j    country. 

'""  The  American  Red  Cross  took  a  leading  part  in  the  organization 
of  the  League  of  Red  Cross  Societies,  designed  to  unite  the  Red  Cross 
societies  of  the  world  in  active  cooperation  against  the  miseries  which 
arise  from  disease  and  disaster. 

Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  collection  of  old  clothing  for 
liberated  countries  in  Europe  In  response  to  a  request  from  the  Hoover 
Commission.  The  Red  Cross  conducted  this  campaign  through  its 
chapters  and  paid  the  charges  of  assembling  these  clothes  to  the  point 
of  shipment. 


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8 


